A Children's Hospital is apologizing for a "weakness of surveillance" after a deadly fungus claimed the lives of five patients between 2008 and 2009.
According to USA Today, five children died at New Orleans' Children's Hospital due to a fungus from their bed sheets. Director Dr. John Heaton, the hospital's associate medical director for patient quality and safety, said the hospital acknowledged its responsibility in failing to identify the outbreak.
The hospital called in state and federal agencies to investigate the random deaths and concluded that the deaths were linked to a rare fungal infection - mucormycosis - that the children contracted from hospital linens. Mucormycosis is dangerous to those with weak or compromised immune systems.
Heaton, an anesthesiologist, said the hospital "dropped the ball" in failing to notify the victims' families. As of Thursday, Heaton has contacted three families of children who contracted mucormycosis.
"We failed to do what we should have done, pure and simple. We dropped the ball," Heaton said at a news conference. "We recognize how difficult this is for these families, years after their child has been hospitalized, to go through these matters again. But we feel it's important to give them all of the information that we have that's relevant to their child's stay here."
Once the outbreak was detected, Heaton said the hospital took several steps in an effort to contain the disease. According to USA Today, the hospital threw away old linens and sterilized storage areas. The New Orleans hospital also ended its contract with the local linen vendor. Although apologizing for the mishap, Heaton also emphasized that the hospital does not believe the infections were the primary cause of death for the young patients
"Although we made an extraordinary effort to identify the source of this infection, we did not make an extraordinary effort to communicate with our families and disclose the nature of this illness," Heaton said.
According to Orleans Parish Criminal District Court records, some lawsuits have been filed as a result of the deaths, including the parents of 13-year-old Zachary Tyler, who is suing both the hospital and the linen cleaning company, TLC Service, Inc.
The revelations are being published in the May edition of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.
