After 3 NICU babies die, Pennsylvania hospital says a waterborne bacteria may be to blame

The deaths of three infants in a Pennsylvania hospital may have been the result of a bacterial infection, and the hospital is now diverting specific mothers and recently born babies to other hospitals. 

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville "recently experienced an increase in cases of pseudomonas infection, a waterborne bacteria, among premature infants," Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Edward Hartle said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. 

According to the statement, eight infants in Geisinger's NICU were treated for pseudomonas infection.

Four of the infants have been "successfully treated," one is responding to antibiotic treatment and three died, "which may have been a result of the infection complicating their already vulnerable state due to extreme prematurity," Hartle said.

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"We continue to work closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate and ensure that proactive measures already taken have eradicated the bacteria as well as prevent any additional cases," Hartle said. 

Geisinger Medical Center is diverting mothers likely to give birth prematurely before 32 weeks gestation and infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation to other hospitals in Pennsylvania "out of an abundance of caution," according to Hartle's statement. 

"We will continue our meticulous and comprehensive infection control practices at GMC to reduce the risk of any infection in any infant, and we remain committed to providing the highest level of family-centered neonatal care for our families and babies," Hartle said.

Geisinger has established two hotline numbers for those in the area with questions: 570-214-9087 and 570-214-9088. 

According to the CDC, "Pseudomonas can be spread on the hands of healthcare workers or by equipment that gets contaminated and is not properly cleaned."

"Serious Pseudomonas infections usually occur in people in the hospital and/or with weakened immune systems," the CDC says. "Infections of the blood, pneumonia, and infections following surgery can lead to severe illness and death in these people."