Care room open after baby's death

The hospital said the outbreak has been "successfully controlled"

An intensive care room has reopened to new admissions after a bug which has killed one baby affected a hospital's neo-natal ward.

The victim, born prematurely at Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital almost two weeks ago, was one of two babies to become infected with Serratia bacteria.

The second baby and five who have tested positive for Serratia on their skin are in a six-cot isolation unit.

Staff said the second baby infected was "doing very well".

Not 'infected'

The baby will be able to go home in the next two to three weeks, staff at the hospital in Bordesley Green added.

The death of the baby who died was recorded on the death certificate as "natural causes", and the matter will not be investigated by the coroner, hospital staff confirmed.

A hospital spokeswoman said the outbreak has been "successfully controlled".

The hospital has said the five babies who tested positive were not "infected" because the bug had not had chance to enter their bodies.

The intensive care part of Heartlands' neo-natal unit reopened on Tuesday.

While Serratia can cause various infections, pneumonia and blood poisoning in people with a weakened immune system, treatment is not usually necessary if a person is carrying the bacteria but is not actually infected with Serratia, according to the Health Protection Agency.