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Two babies dead, five critical from bacteria at German hospital

Other News Materials 22 August 2010 22:16 (UTC +04:00)
Two newborn babies have died and five were in critical condition on Sunday after receiving contaminated intravenous drips at a hospital in Germany, dpa reported.
Two babies dead, five critical from bacteria at German hospital

Two newborn babies have died and five were in critical condition on Sunday after receiving contaminated intravenous drips at a hospital in Germany, dpa reported.

All the children were patients at Mainz University Hospital in western Germany. Hospital officials said 11 children had been given nutritional infusions which were contaminated with an unspecified bacteria.

Both the babies who died on Saturday had been in an intensive-care ward because they were seriously ill before the infusion.

According to the hospital, the infusions had been individually prepared for each patient in the hospital pharmacy department using components from a commercial supplier.

"We're utterly shocked," hospital chief executive, Norbert Pfeiffer, said. "A hunt for the exact cause in the supply chain is going on now." He did not identify the bacteria present in the drips.

He said the contamination was discovered during daily laboratory tests on the infusions. The pharmacy immediately ceased using the mixing system and ingredients and switched to products from a different manufacturer.

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