There is still no official information regarding the health condition of several babies who have been at the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo (KCUS) since January due to systemic infection and meningitis. The latest information from one of the parents is that several of them are continuing treatment outside Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). While KCUS is not revealing details about this issue, the parents are desperate. Their little ones will have serious consequences. But, they say, this won’t end here, as they demand accountability.
Will they walk, speak, and develop fully – these are just some of the questions that chill the blood of the parents whose babies were infected with meningitis. Who will be held responsible for this is not known. But it is known that the parents are desperate. In a written statement, on March 6th, two mothers stated that the intrahospital infection in their babies appeared after discharge from the maternity ward. One of them praised the entire team of neurosurgeons who, as she stated, gave a lot in treating the children, but the problem, she noted, was the lack of an endoscope – a medical instrument crucial for diagnostics.
“The child turned yellow, wouldn’t eat, and whimpered. I immediately went to Jezero and they hospitalized her. That day she was hospitalized with a diagnosis of sepsis. The next day she was immediately diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. In the following days, the meningitis developed into purulent meningitis,” one of the mothers explained at the time.
“On top of all the agony we’re going through, it’s even sadder to see their constant denials regarding this topic. I gave birth on January 7th at the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics, everything went fine and the next day we were discharged from the hospital with a 10/10 score. After a few days, we noticed changes in the child. He turned yellow, refused food, whimpered, and had moments where he completely stiffened. After an examination at Jezero, the child was immediately placed in neonatology, and the next day we learned that the diagnosis was sepsis with meningitis,” said the second mother.
From KCUS, a detailed but formal response. How many babies became ill, how many were transferred for further treatment outside BiH, the cause of the illness – these are questions they did not answer due to applicable legal regulations and the confidentiality of personal and medical data. They deny that the cause of the illness is related to the lack of an endoscope, but they add:
“KCUS, in cases requiring very specific diagnostic or therapeutic methods that are currently not available in our institution, acts in accordance with the legal framework and procedures. In such cases, based on the opinion of a medical board and in agreement with parents/guardians, it is possible to organize the referral of patients for treatment outside BiH,” stated KCUS.
It’s not five, but three children, says the cantonal health minister, but he admits that even that is alarming, since this number hasn’t been recorded even on an annual level, let alone in just a few days.
“The same day it happened, the inspection was alerted. The Cantonal Institute of Public Health and the Federal Institute of Public Health conducted an analysis. The Commission for Intrahospital Infections responded and found that the three babies have enterobacter pathogens that were isolated. All measures within the jurisdiction of the inspections were taken. KCUS acted in accordance with internal procedures and legal acts. The babies, unfortunately, had sepsis, meningitis, and brain damage, and this has caused and is causing severe and lasting consequences,” explained Enis Hasanovic, Minister of Health of Canton Sarajevo (CS).
In the meantime, testimony from another parent arrived. They deny that the number of babies being circulated in public is accurate. There are more, and they were infected in January, February, and March of this year. All parents, both those who remained in Sarajevo and those in Turkey, are focusing all their energy on the recovery of their little ones, confirming that their children have severe and lasting brain damage, that they will not stop here, and that they will seek accountability.
Earlier oversights within KCUS, with reference to the latest case, were pointed out earlier by the former head of the clinical center, Sebija Izetbegovic.
At the same time, while parents once again, as in many other cases, are seeking salvation for their children outside the borders of BiH, the domestic healthcare system once again comes into the spotlight and lays bare all its flaws, which will be carried on the backs, for who knows how many times, until the end of life, by those who deserved it the least.
