Friday, May 30, 2008

Many cot deaths may be caused by infections

Common infections could be a major cause of cot death, doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital have discovered. Doctors there investigated 546 sudden infant deaths and found that in half of the cases that had been classed as "unexplained", potentially dangerous bacteria were found in the baby's body.

Cot death can include cases in which a cause of death is found on examination but it cannot be determined why the baby died. The bugs included staphylococcus aureus and E.coli which can cause serious problems without any outward signs. And the bacteria were in almost the same concentrations as in cases where the cause of death was determined as infection. (Telegraph)

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