Another baby with a suspected case of pseudomonas is now being treated at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital’s neo-natal unit in Belfast, a spokesman for the North’s Department of Health confirmed tonight.
Six babies have been confirmed to have been infected with the illness which affects the chest, blood and urinary tract. Three babies have died.
It was stated tonight that "there is a high index of suspicion" that another baby who is said to be seriously ill has contracted the infection. Pseudomonas was not formally confirmed but indications were the child had the illness, a spokesman said.
An unlinked strain of the infection claimed the life of another baby in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry before Christmas.
The Department of Health said the six babies who have the pseudomonas bacteria on their skin have been identified, but this was not causing concern about further active infection.
"The babies continue to receive the neonatal care they require. As a precautionary measure, babies' skin may be screened again as the situation requires to see if they are carrying the bacteria. All necessary precautions are being taken to avoid spread of infection," it said in a statement.
The Minister of Health Edwin Poots told the Northern Assembly today that pseudomonas was a bacteria that thrived in water and soil and that work was being carried out to check if the bacteria at the hospital had come from a water source.
Babies who had little immunity to fight the infection were particularly vulnerable, he explained. "It has no impact on people whose immune systems are normal but (for) people who have very low immune systems it can have a very devastating impact, and obviously the babies in the neo-natal unit have little immunity to fight these infections. And therein lies the problem," he said.
"We have to do our utmost to ensure those people are adequately protected and cared for," added Mr Poots.
A deep clean of the hospital in west Belfast was completed at the weekend and a helpline set up to support expectant mothers worried about giving birth at the neonatal unit has been extended due to demand.
Decontamination of the intensive care part of the neo-natal unit at the Royal is complete. The affected area in the unit will remain closed while a team of specialists continues attempts to identify the most likely sources of the infection.
All other maternity services and wards in the hospital are fully operational and working as normal.
Overall numbers in Northern Ireland, England and Wales have declined over the last few years. There were a total of 3,807 cases of all strands of pseudomonas reported in 2010, a slight drop from 3,888 in 2009 and 3,957 cases in 2008.
