Report: Fungus sickens Seattle Children’s hospital patient
Nov 12, 2019, 2:32 PM
Seattle Children's Hospital. (Seattle Children's courtesy photo)
(Seattle Children's courtesy photo)
A patient at Seattle Children’s hospital has contracted an infection from a fungus found in three operating rooms, according to
The hospital was forced to close some of its operating rooms, after once again detecting the presence of mold.
Archive: 1 dead, 5 others infected from mold at Seattle Children鈥檚
Tests run on Nov. 10 showed a potentially dangerous fungus known as Aspergillus in the air in three operating rooms and two procedural areas. All of those rooms have since been closed, with the hospital planning to close its remaining ORs 鈥渁t some point this week.鈥�
It is a common mold, but it can cause complications for surgical patients. One of Seattle鈥檚 Children鈥檚 patients died earlier in 2019 from an Aspergillus infection, and now two more patients may have infections from recent surgery.
The hospital closed its main operating rooms on May 18 after testing positive for Aspergillus. The remaining 10 were closed six days later. The hospital touted 鈥渆xtensive improvements and corrective actions鈥� after the rooms聽were reopened on July 4.
In addition to the one reported death from that early-2019 incident, Seattle Children鈥檚 reported five additional infections at the time. Three of the affected patients were infected in 2018, while the other three contracted infections from the mold sometime before the rooms were closed in May.
For this latest incident, the hospital says some less urgent surgeries may be postponed or moved to another area hospital. More pressing surgeries will take place in ORs 鈥渢hat have more advanced in-room filtration.鈥�
Seattle Children鈥檚 is not sure how long these closures will last as it continues to investigate the issue.
