Baby with legionnaires disease remains critically ill at Makarios hospital
A baby with legionnaires disease is critically ill in Nicosia, while the private hospital where the infection occurred has been suspended from operating pending further tests.
Nicosia, Cyprus. A baby diagnosed with legionnaires disease remains critically ill at Makarios children’s hospital, state health services organisation (Okypy) spokesman Charalambos Charilaou said on Saturday. The private hospital where the baby was born and contracted the infection has been suspended from operating while further tests are pending.
Water tests detect bacteria
The health ministry announced the suspension on Friday, when the diagnosis also became public. The baby had been receiving care at the private hospital when it contracted the disease.
According to the ministry, inspections and sampling of the hospital’s water network had already taken place. Initial findings detected legionella pneumophila, the bacterium responsible for legionnaires disease.
Other babies receiving care at the private hospital have been moved to other facilities. Okypy said it had no information about similar incidents at any other facility across the country.
Treatment and transmission
Charilaou said the baby was “receiving all appropriate treatments”.
The United Kingdom’s national health service describes legionnaires disease as a lung infection acquired by breathing in water droplets from sources such as air-conditioning systems or hot tubs. It characterises the illness as “uncommon but very serious”.
The infection is not generally passed between people. Instead, transmission occurs through inhaling droplets containing the bacteria, which usually grow in artificial water systems.
This news item was generated automatically by Cyprus Inform from publicly available materials. Report an error →