Geneticist Dr Nicole Ramlachan says while bacterial infections are common in medical environments it is important to be able to diagnose and isolate them before they reach critical levels.
She said standard operating procedures including sanitisation, changing of PPE (personal protective equipment) from baby to baby and room to room, testing of babies as well as neonatal caregivers including doctors and nurses should be done regularly to avoid the spread of any infections.
“There are standard operating procedures that have to take place, especially in the case of a place like a NICU where sanitisation has to occur. In terms of the type of bacteria that we are able to identify via PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or other kinds of diagnostics, it’s not unusual to find these types of bacteria in this kind of environment. What is unusual is the number of deaths associated with it,” Ramlachan said.
As of yesterday, the deaths of 20 babies at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit have formed part of a class action lawsuit against the North West Regional Health Authority. The babies died between June 2022 to April 2024 (the parents of two other babies are suing saying their infants died at other public health institutions). However, the NWRHA said a probe was being conducted into the deaths of seven neonates which occurred in one week from April 4 to April 9.
Ramlachan, who spoke during an interview on CNC3’s The Morning Brew on Wednesday, said it was just as important when a bacteria was detected that accurate testing and diagnosis was done to minimise the loss of life.
“They (babies) develop something called septicemia which is a blood bacteria infection, it spreads throughout their body and becomes systemic, but you have to be able to isolate it, diagnose it, and treat it,” she said.
Ramlachan is advocating for more routine and frequent testing of newborn babies.
“A simple throat swab of these babies would have told the doctors what they had very early on before they were able to even develop symptoms. In normal NICUs there is newborn screening for genetic diseases, we will find out whose lungs are probably compromised, whose hearts are probably compromised, very early on at birth,” she added.
A three-member team from The Pan American Health Organization is currently conducting an investigation into the deaths.