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Durban - Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Wednesday that further investigation into the outbreak of klebsiella at a Durban hospital where five babies died was needed.She said in a statement that she had been briefed by the management of the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital about the outbreak and that "reasonable measures have been taken to contain the situation. However there is a need for further investigation of the actual cause of the outbreak.Alleviate overcrowding
"We can confirm that there have been 7 confirmed cases and two unconfirmed cases of klebsiella at this hospital."The hospital, situated in Durban's Umlazi area, serves an estimated 1.6 million people and 1 200 babies are delivered at the hospital every month.She said 26 beds at Durban's Wentworth Hospital would be used to accommodate some babies in a bid to alleviate overcrowding at the hospital.Meanwhile journalists taken on a tour of the hospital, as they waited more than three hours to speak to the minister, were on Wednesday prevented from interviewing a mother whose baby had contracted the deadly bacteria.The journalists who had been invited to attend a midday media briefing by Tshabalala-Msimang were led on a tour of the hospital by a health department official.When the group reached the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, journalists were stopped by hospital staff from interviewing a mother, whose baby is recuperating from klebsiella.
Task team had identified the source
KwaZulu-Natal health spokesperson Leon Mbangwa on Tuesday said that an investigation into the "possible outbreak" of klebsiella was ordered on November 21 by the provincial health department.He said that although the investigation had not been completed, a task team led by Professor Prashini Moodley of the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine identified the source of the infection as being "contaminated intravenous medication"."The infectious source has been removed and the surviving babies are now doing well," he said.
As in the days of Noah....
