Kenyatta Referral Hospital has confirmed cases of Klebsiella pneumoniae, a multidrug-resistant bacteria, in 13 newborns. Six out of the 13 have died.
During a visit to the facility last week, outgoing Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe imposed containment measures in order to reduce transmission. Kagwe instructed the hospital management to monitor all at-risk neonates and ensure environmental screening at the affected unit.
“The Kenyatta National Hospital as well as other health facilities need to review their surveillance systems to improve identification and management of healthcare-acquired infections. Healthcare workers should screen all babies at admission to newborn units for early identification and isolation of those infected and ensure continuous capacity building for all staff on infection, prevention and control,” Kagwe said.
He further encouraged all referral hospitals in the country to partner with other health facilities to reduce cross-hospital transfer of infections. According to the Ministry of Health, the first case at the Kenyatta National Hospital was identified on August 22 at the microbiology laboratory after blood samples of an infant who had been admitted at the facility tested positive for the bacteria.
“The Klebsiella pneumonia organism that was isolated from the newborn unit was noted to be resistant to almost all the antibiotics available for treatment of neonates. Since then, the same organism has been isolated from 13 neonates, who have all been managed as per standard procedures out of which six have succumbed,” the ministry said in a statement.
