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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's health minister says a maternity hospital in the capital where 45 babies were diagnosed with a drug-resistant superbug has been given the all-clear to reopen.
Sorina Pintea said Tuesday that the Giulesti Maternity Hospital, closed on Nov. 30 after newborns were diagnosed with antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, will reopen Dec. 21 after "preliminary results say we don't have problems."
It isn't clear how the outbreak began. Health authorities have suggested that the hospital does too many C-sections and that hygiene standards aren't respected.
Eleven staff members who tested positive for the superbug were suspended from work and face treatment.
The bacteria often live on the skin or in the nostrils without causing symptoms but they can become dangerous if they enter the bloodstream, destroying heart valves or causing other damage.
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