Four babies in the brand new Royal Blackburn Hospital were put in isolation after testing positive for MRSA. Traces of the superbug were found on the infants' skin in the £113Million hospital last week.None of the babies had any resulting problems and their clinical conditions were not affected. As a precaution, admissions to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit from outside the area were restricted for a few days. Babies born at the hospital who needed neonatal intensive care during the period of restriction were still admitted. The affected babies were nursed in separate areas within the unit in accordance with infection control procedures.
Lynn Wissett, director of clinical care, said: "MRSA is common germ that lives completely harmlessly on the skin and nose of about one third of the population. As with any infection, we have strict protocols in place to ensure that the spread of MRSA in our hospitals is limited as far as possible." She added, "The situation is being closely monitored by our infection control team."
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