The successive deaths of four newborns at a hospital's intensive care unit last month were caused by blood poisoning from a bacterial infection, police said Friday.
Blood tests on the infants showed that all of them were infected with Citrobacter freundii, which can cause fatal symptoms in immunocompromised patients, including premature babies, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, quoting the final autopsy result from the National Forensic Service (NFS).
Police said they will charge five medical staff at the Ewha Womans University Hospital, including the chief doctor and nurse who had been in charge, with involuntary manslaughter for neglecting their duties, resulting in the babies' deaths.
The prenatal intensive care unit at the Ewha Womans University Hospital in western Seoul (Yonhap)
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