CONTAMINTED tap water is the likeliest source of a deadly bug which has claimed the life of a newborn at Scotland's newest hospital.
An investigation is underway after a premature infant, with existing medical problems, died after becoming infected with a bacteria known as Serratia marcescens in the neonatal unit of Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Children, which shares a site with the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Another five babies have also tested positive for the bug, which is normally harmless, but they are not giving medics "any cause for concern".
Professor Hugh Pennington, professor emeritus of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said: "I don't think there is any doubt that these babies picked up the bug in hospital.
"The taps would be my top thing to look at. It makes a lot of sense that it would be in the tap water because of babies being washed under the tap when they are born.
"Staff in neonatal units are usually obsessive about hand-washing but might have been washing their hands in water with Serratia in it."
The bacteria is naturally present in the gut and not harmful to healthy people, but can be dangerous for patients whose immune system is compromised.
Prof Pennington added: "When it gets into the babies' bloodstreams, this bacteria can cause a type of infection like septicaemia.
"While it is normally quite harmless, even in children and certainly in adults, for these tiny babies whose immune system has not developed, it can be a serious problem."
Ben Neuman, a virologist at the University of Reading, said: "It is most likely this came from a tap and spread to the babies through being washed. It is nurses' job to wash the babies in the sink and they would not have known. For the baby who had the bug in their bloodstream, the Serratia could easily have got in from the skin through a needle used to feed the baby through an intravenous drip."
One baby died and 11 others were infected during a previous outbreak of Serratia marcescens in 2011 at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow.
The health board said it has been monitoring a small increase in cases of the bug since July.
Alan Mathers, chief of medicine for women and children's services, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family of the baby who has so sadly passed away.
"None of the five babies in the unit who are colonised are giving cause for concern as a result of the colonisation."
He added: "Given that there are no other cases of infection and that all the appropriate infection control procedures are in place the unit will continue to admit new patients as normal.
"Our staff are in communication with the families to keep them fully informed."
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