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Hospital limits admission of premature delivery cases

DUBAI — Premier government hospital Al Wasl has limited the admission of pregnant women who are likely to deliver premature babies following the death of a newborn in the intensive care unit due to infection from a hospital bug earlier this month.

Earlier reports had said two babies had died, but Director of the hospital Dr Abdullah Al Khayat told Khaleej Times yesterday that only one had died.

He also said the bacterial infection was now under control and there was no cause for alarm about the remaining 110 newborns in the unit.

On January 4, a premature Syrian baby boy, named Abad, succumbed to the Serratia Marcescens bacterial infection while his twin brother, Jad, also remained critically ill due to the same infection.

Serratia Marcescens is an infectious and harmful type of bacterium that can cause deaths. People usually contract the infection from hospitals through medical equipment.

“Yes, the infection is under control now and yesterday the second twin was removed from the ventilator as his condition has improved,” said Dr Khayat.

“This is a communicable disease which exists in big hospitals. The twins were born in December with a low birth weight of 1.5 kg making them prone to infections, but we have taken all precautions necessary to control the infection,” he said.

He, however, admitted that the hospital was trying to limit the number of admissions of pregnant women who were likely to deliver premature babies.

Several women are being referred to Dubai Hospital, the second major hospital in Dubai with antenatal facilities and an intensive care unit for premature children, for treatment.

“We are trying to limit the occupancy to less than a 100. Until last week, the occupancy was up to 150 which is more than the space we have,” he said.

“Al Wasl Hospital is one of the biggest hospitals in the UAE as well as the Middle East. Many women are still insisting to deliver in the hospital, but at the moment, we are unable to take many cases.”