Premature baby dies in intestinal infection wave at German hospital

A premature baby has died in the neonatal intensive care unit at St Louise's Women's and Children's Hospital in the German city of Paderborn, following an infection with an intestinal bacterium.

St Vincent's Hospital Group, which includes the women's and children's hospital, announced on Saturday that Enterobacter bacteria have now been detected in a total of four children.

As a precautionary measure, new admissions have been suspended due to the cluster of cases.

According to the hospital administration, two premature babies suffered from severe sepsis. One had already died on Tuesday despite intensive care treatment, a spokeswoman said. The condition of the other, which was still critical on Friday evening, has since stabilized.

The other two children in whom the pathogen had been detected continued to show no symptoms of illness.

According to the Federal Office for Risk Assessment, bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family are part of the normal gut flora, but some species have been identified as a major cause of hospital-acquired infections.

Those particularly at risk are immunocompromised individuals, those who are ill, or those who are vulnerable for other reasons. According to the hospital, the pathogen detected so far is not a multi-drug-resistant bacterium.

The hospital said it has "significantly expanded" its hygiene and protective measures, and only emergency cases are now being admitted. At the same time, an extensive search is under way for possible sources and routes of transmission. The relevant public health authority has been involved, it said.

The hospital's management expressed its "deepest sympathy" to the parents and relatives of the deceased child.