Three Newborns Die in E. Coli Outbreak at Inner Mongolia Hospital

Three newborn babies died in an E. coli outbreak last month in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia, according to health authorities.

The fatalities occurred at Ordos Center Hospital, one of Ordos City’s top hospitals. The metropolis of 2 million is known for cashmere products. Starting April 5, nine of 11 newborns in the NICU had fevers, septic shock and other symptoms. Within a week, three of them died.

E. coli bacteria, which normally live in human intestines, were detected in anal swabs and blood samples from the babies as well as on surfaces of the NICU’s objects, the National Health Commission said in an April 25 notice following an investigation by an expert team. The notice was disclosed Tuesday on a government’s social credit website.

It was not clear how the first newborn was infected with E. coli. Newborns are usually more susceptible to intestinal infections and generally contract them from their mothers, said Huang Lisu, director of the neonatal infection department at Shanghai’s Xinhua Hospital.

The outbreak resulted from insufficient nursing staff in the hospital, inadequate sterilization and failure to take effective quarantine measures and report infections in a timely way, the National Health Commission said in the notice.

The incident took place during China’s Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, and only one cleaning staffer was assigned to the NICU, the commission said.

The NICU was closed and ordered to take corrective actions. The deputy dean in charge of the pediatric department and the director of the neonatal department were removed from their positions, and others responsible for the incident were punished or fired, the commission said.

The six other infected babies were cured and released from the hospital, Caixin learned Wednesday from a staffer at the Ordos Health Commission. The hospital reached compensation agreements with the nine families, the staff member said, without disclosing the amount of compensation.

Medical workers who cause death or serious health damage to patients due to neglect could face a jail sentence of as long as three years under China’s criminal law on medical injuries.

The incident was caused by problems in the hospital’s management rather than mistakes by medical staff in the treatment process, so it wasn’t not defined as a medical accident, the staff member at the Ordos Health Commission said.

Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)

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