Infection blamed for deaths of five newborns in Izmir

23/09/2008

ANKARA, Turkey -- A bacterial infection killed five of the 13 premature newborns who died in a hospital in Izmir at the weekend, according to a special commission investigating the deaths. On Monday (September 22nd), the head of the commission, Dr. Recep Ozturk of Istanbul University, said the infection could have been transmitted via the intravenous feeding drip, despite high levels of hygiene at the Tepecik hospital. He noted that no institution in the world is entirely safe from infection. (Hurriyet - 23/09/08; Anadolu news agency, Reuters, AP, Dogan, AFP - 22/09/08)