Three babies die from rare blood infection.

Three babies born early died after contracting a rare blood infection at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, Glasgow.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the third child was extremely poorly at the time of birth and that a rare strain of staphylococcus aureus infection was one of several factors in the death.

A spokesperson for the health board said four babies at the hospital had contracted the infection, but one was successfully treated and discharged.

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium found on the skin and in the nasal passage of about one in four people, and causes infection only when it enters the body.

It is among the most common causes of hospital-acquired infections but the type 11164 strain, which infected the babies at the Princess Royal, was highly resistant to the two antibiotics normally prescribed as well as being resistant to the skin cleaning agent routinely used in UK hospitals.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde set up an incident management team (IMT), comprising specialist clinicians, infection control doctors and nurses, occupational health clinicians and colleagues from estates and facilities, to investigate the cases.

The health board said: ""Three babies, who were extremely poorly due to their very early birth, sadly died and staphylococcus aureus infection was one of a number of contributing causes in their deaths."

The health authority said a programme of staff and family screening was carried out at the hospital as part of steps taken to respond to the infection.

It added: "As this was an extremely rare strain, highly resistant to the two antibiotics normally prescribed for S. Aureus and the skin cleaning agent routinely used in hospitals across the UK, we put in place a number of further infection control measures including the prescribing of different antibiotics and the introduction of a new skin cleaning agent."

The hospital said that the source of the infection in the intensive care unit may never be known.