2 premature babies die from infection linked to suspected dish soap contamination at Italy hospital

Two premature babies weighing less than two pounds died last week after contracting infections officials believe came from contaminated dish soap at the Italian hospital where they were being treated.

The two infants, born at 23 weeks and 27 weeks of gestation, respectively, were diagnosed with an infection spurred by Serratia marcescens, a common germ that can prove fatal to those with precarious health conditions.

Both babies died between Aug. 12 and Aug. 13 after developing sepsis from the infection at the San Maurizio Hospital in Bolzano, just 150 miles south of the Italy-Austria border. They weighed about a pound and a half each.

The germ was linked to the industrial dishwashing soap used at the hospital, which was all swiftly recalled, Josef Widmann, the medical director of the South Tyrolean Health Authority, said at a news conference, according to the local outlet L’Unione Sarda.

“The presence of this bacterium is not unique because it constantly poses a risk to neonatal intensive care units, not so much because of the type of germ but because of the particular vulnerability of these little patients due to their immature immune systems,” Hospital director Pierpaolo Bertoli said.

All dish soap used by the Bolanzo hospital system was swiftly recalled, Widmann said.

The hospital will also not be accepting any other high-risk premature babies into its system for treatment while the investigation is ongoing, Dr. Monika Zaebisch, the medical director of the hospital, said.

All other cases, in the meantime, will be diverted to hospitals in Trento, a different province nearly 40 miles outside of Bolzano.

The remaining 10 infants in the neonatal ward were taken to a different wing to ensure they weren’t exposed to any other contaminated materials, Zaebisch said.

“At the Bolzano hospital, we have implemented all preventive measures to prevent the transmission of germs. The ward staff strictly adheres to hygiene measures. Unfortunately, these two cases could not be prevented,” Zaebisch assured.

Italy’s National Anti-Corruption Unit of the Carabinieri military police launched an investigation into the infants’ deaths.

The Bolanzo Public Prosecutor’s office will weigh whether or not to order autopsies on the small infants, which could help determine if their deaths warrant charges of malpractice.

The confounding infections came just a week after a toxic botulism outbreak killed two and hospitalized 14 people, including two teenagers, who all ordered sandwiches from the same food truck in southwest Italy.