UK hospital “superbug” MRSA kills baby

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A two-day-old baby has died from the hospital “superbug” MRSA, a British hospital said on Tuesday.

Luke Day was born on February 2 and died 36 hours later from MRSA, with Ipswich Hospital saying he had been born without any sign of illness, though the birth had been complicated.

MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which is resistant to drugs, can cause skin infections, sepsis and toxic shock. Hospitals have come under fire for slack hygiene and cleanliness standards.

"We instigated an immediate investigation into the events surrounding this unexpected death,” Ipswich Hospital’s acting chief executive Chris Dooley said in statement.

“This investigation included testing of the ward, the surrounding maternity facilities, all staff who have come into contact with Luke and the immediate family members for the presence of MRSA. All of these tests have proved negative.”

The cause of death was established by a Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children pathologist.

Luke’s 17-year-old mother Glynis Day told Sky television she hadn’t noticed anything. “His colour was fine, he was just crying for milk,” she said.

“Later one of the midwives touched him and he didn’t move. Then there were all these doctors running about.”

The baby’s father, Kevin Fenton said he initially refused to sign the death certificate because it had no mention of MRSA.

“I told them that I wasn’t going to sign it unless MRSA was put on and we got a call from the registrar two days later saying that it had been changed,” Fenton told the East Anglian Daily Times newspaper.

Earlier this month, the independent Health Protection Agency said infections with MRSA in England, which have been blamed in an increased number of patient deaths, had fallen to their lowest level in recent years.

But Health Secretary John Reid acknowledged MRSA “remains a problem” and announced the National Health Service would pilot a new rapid swab technique to identify patients with the bug within hours rather than days. 

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