MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Thirteen children under 14 have died in central Mexico and authorities said Thursday they suspect contaminated IV feeding bags as the culprit.
The federal Health Department ordered doctors across the country not to use IV nutrition bags made by the company Productos Hospitalarios S.A de C.V., though the exact source of the infections is still under investigation.
The outbreak appeared to be Klebsiella oxytoca, a multidrug-resistant bacteria, in all cases. It was first detected in November at three government hospitals and one private one in the State of Mexico, on the outskirts of Mexico City.
The department said the children appeared to have died from a bloodstream infection.
So far, of the 20 possible cases, the bacteria was ruled out in one case, suspected in four and confirmed in 15 cases. Of the 19 patients, 13 died and the other six patients are being treated at hospitals.
Asked about the cluster of cases, said Thursday "They (health officials) told me about a case yesterday, but let's say, it's under control.鈥�
It was the latest public blow to Mexico鈥檚 tottering, underfunded health care system. Last week, the director of the country鈥檚 flagship national cardiology institute said that the hospital didn鈥檛 have money to buy essential supplies, calling the situation 鈥渃ritical.鈥�
Dr. Jorge Gaspar, the hospital's director, wrote an internal letter saying that budget cuts 鈥渉ave affected the acquisition of supplies necessary for the institution's functioning.鈥� In a subsequent public letter the next day, he clarified that the initial message was intended for an 鈥渋nternal鈥� audience and assured the public that 鈥渨e are working to solve the situation.鈥�
Mexico has been plagued by
In 2023, authorities arrested an anesthesiologist they blamed for an outbreak of meningitis that killed 35 patients and sickened 79.
The doctor, whose name was withheld, apparently carried his own morphine from one private hospital to another, spreading a fungal infection that contaminated the medication at the first clinic, authorities said.
The drug may not have been stored properly. Some smaller hospitals or maternity clinics in Mexico don鈥檛 have their own dispensing pharmacies or are not authorized to handle controlled medications like opiates, and thus long relied on anesthesiologists to bring their own.
In 2020, 14 people died after a hospital run by Mexico鈥檚 state-owned oil company gave a drug to dialysis patients that was contaminated with bacteria. More than 69 patients were sickened in that outbreak.
Former President , who left office on Sept. 30, complained frequently that drug supply companies were charging too much, and so he essentially revamped the whole medical purchasing system, pledging to provide Mexicans a health care that is 鈥渂etter than in Denmark.鈥�
However, the new system of government-run warehouses has foundered, plagued by chronic shortages of supplies and drugs, while a gargantuan government supply depot L贸pez Obrador set up and called the 鈥渕ega drug store鈥� now sits largely empty.
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