A baby has died and fourteen others are fighting for their lives after being poisoned by contaminated drips.
Health chiefs launched an urgent probe after the vulnerable babies, who were all in intensive care, developed septicaemia after being infected by a bug in their liquid food.
London-based ITH Pharma Limited, which made the liquid food, had identified an “incident” that had contaminated the batches.
The baby who died was in the neonatal intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in Central London.
A hospital spokeswoman said the infection was discovered on May 31 but the baby died the following day. She said two other babies also affected “are responding well to antibiotics”.
She added: “All babies on the unit are being screened for the bacterium as a precaution and enhanced infection control measures have been put in place to prevent any further cases.
Five other babies have been infected in London hospitals.
The bug – bacillus cereus – causes blood poisoning and was fed to mainly premature babies who are extremely vulnerable to infection.
A spokeswoman said: “Many of the babies were premature and very vulnerable and one baby has sadly died but the others are responding to antibiotic treatment.”
“We have taken action to ensure that the affected batches and any remaining stock of this medicine is not being used in hospitals.”
The bacillus cereus bug is a bacteria found widely in the environment in dust, soil and vegetation. The spores can produce a toxin which causes illness.
Every hospital said they have removed the contaminated food, stepped up infection control and briefed parents about the issue.
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