Infection outbreak incidents in Alabama may have contributed to nine deaths. According to State Health Officer Donald Williamson, investigations have not found the deaths were caused by the infections.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that he said, “There is nothing to suggest the deaths were directly related to the bacterial infection.”
The Health department in Alabama is investigating the deaths of nine hospital patients that might have been caused by the outbreak of bacteria called Serratia marcescens infecting patients through intravenous feeding bags.
Around a dozen more patients have also fallen sick on Tuesday after receiving nutrients from the bags through IV tubes. Officials in charge of investigating the possible outbreak have not yet attributed the deaths to the infection that appeared at six hospitals starting March 16 after using the same intravenous bags produced by the same pharmacy, reported to Bloomberg News.
The bags were produced by a Birmingham-based pharmacy that notified its customers about the contamination and discontinued production of the bags, the report said.
Officials from Alabama Department of Public Health link the increased cases of Serratia marcescens to TPN, a catheter-associated nutrition supplement, delivered to the patient’s body through tubes connected with infected intravenous feeding bags.
Serratia marcescens is a rod-shaped bacteria that is largely present in the environment and often found in respiratory and urinary tracts of hospitalized adults, and in the gastrointestinal systems of children. Complete eradication of the bacteria is often difficult, but the infectious bacteria can be removed by the use of disinfectant.
The spread of the outbreak has been closed and averted according to officials, but the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease and Control, along with the Alabama Department of Public Health are investigating the cause of the outbreak.
“CDC’s investigation is still underway,” Alabama spokesperson Mary McIntyre told AFP.
The Alabama Department of Public Health said that people should not use potentially contaminated bags as the use of such products “may lead to bacterial infection of the blood.”
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