The infant who died was born last week. The infection was discovered after the baby’s death. Rambam said the three other infants are in stable condition and receiving antibiotic treatment.
The hospital has temporarily halted the admission of new premature babies because of the infection and heavy patient load.
Medical staff in the NICU, together with Rambam’s infection prevention team, are working to identify the source of the outbreak. The hospital said steps have been taken to prevent additional infections and stressed that the case is confined to the NICU, with no risk to babies or patients in other wards.
Rambam reported the incident to Israel’s national infection prevention unit and to the Health Ministry. The hospital, which operates one of the largest NICUs in the country, said it is committed to transparency with parents.
Following the outbreak, all infants in the unit were screened. Three more were found to be infected, though their condition is stable and they are receiving preventive treatment. The exact bacteria involved has not yet been identified.
The Health Ministry’s latest infection-control report ranked Rambam second among Israel’s major hospitals for rates of hospital-acquired infections, after Shamir Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba had the lowest infection rate, followed by Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.
Last month, more than 10 premature babies in Ichilov’s NICU were found to be carriers of Klebsiella, a bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Other common bacteria in hospitals include E. coli, which can cause urinary tract and blood infections, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which can lead to pneumonia, urinary infections and sepsis.
