Major infection control deficiencies found at New Jersey hospital after baby's death

The New Jersey State Department of Health said it was informed of the bacterial infection on October 1 and since found "major deficiencies in infection control".
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Health officials are investigating an outbreak in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a New Jersey hospital after a premature baby has contracted a bacterial infection and died later. The exact cause of the baby's death at the end of September is being investigated, but four more cases of Acinetobacter baumannii have been reported at Newark University Hospital.

The New Jersey State Department of Health said it was informed of the bacterial infection on October 1 and since found "major deficiencies in infection control".

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"The department has commissioned a directed correction plan that requires the university hospital to employ a full-time consultant, a certified infection control practitioner, who will report to the department on immediate actions taken in the coming days," the department said in a statement. "The department is also studying other measures that it might be necessary to take in the coming days to ensure patient safety."

Acinetobacter baumannii can cause pneumonia or serious blood infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infections typically occur in intensive care units and health care facilities involving very sick patients. It presents little risk to healthy patients, but can spread to sensitive patients through contact with an infected person or through contact with contaminated surfaces.

Prevention includes hand hygiene and cleaning the environment. Treatment usually depends on the severity of the case and varies from patient to patient.

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Hospital infections are unrelated to the epidemic currently under investigation in a pediatric rehabilitation center in Haskill. National and federal authorities are currently investigating an adenovirus 7 outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation that killed 7 children and left at least 11 others ill.