This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
Published on July 12, 2019, a report by the Nation revealed that eleven babies died at the Kenyatta National Hospital's newborn unit last week.
The suspected cause of the deaths was a drug-resistant bacterium known as Klebsiella, which is a species of bacteria that occurs naturally in the environment but can cause infections such as septicaemia, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia.
According to sources at the hospital, the neonates died due to Klebsiella and other factors, compounded by the poor state of the ward.
The situation was further aggravated by the lack of basic products for taking care of babies, including feeding tubes and syringes.
Nurses at the hospital had to improvise by using syringes and other tubes used to aspirate, which caused bruises and bleeding in the babies' noses and mouths.
A clandestine spot check at the facility showed that up to three children shared a cot, putting them at risk of infecting each other with bugs like Klebsiella.
Drug resistance expert Sam Kariuki stated that the Klebsiella at the hospital cannot be treated with the usual antibiotics because it has been circulating in the hospital for some time, interacting with other bacteria, collecting and exchanging resistant elements.
