Hospital in Turkey Under Investigation As 13 Babies Die

A hospital in Turkey's third biggest city, Izmir, was being investigated by a prosecutor for possible medical negligence yesterday after 13 newborn babies died in its care in 24 hours.

The babies - who were all born prematurely - died at Izmir's state-run Tepecik hospital at the weekend, re-igniting concerns about the country's standards of postnatal care and prompting the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to question whether the deaths had been caused by neglect.

It was Turkey's second such case in as many months. In July, 27 babies - also premature - died over a 15-day period at the Zekai Tahir Burak hospital in Ankara, the Turkish capital. Doctors attributed those deaths to hypertension, heart failure or birth complications, but government-appointed investigators concluded that the risk of infection due to staff shortages could have been to blame.

Similar suspicions were being voiced yesterday about the Izmir hospital. The maternity unit, which had 41 newborn babies in its care overnight on Saturday, was closed to new admissions and put under quarantine as a team of doctors scoured it to test for the presence of infection. The team is expected to release its findings in the coming days.

Postmortem examinations on all 13 babies have been ordered by the local prosecutor's office, which yesterday ordered the remains of five - who had been buried before suspicions were raised - to be exhumed.

"These unfortunate deaths are very saddening. There may have been neglect," Erdogan said. "This will become clear after the investigation. Premature births constitute a high risk and this may have played a part too." The head of Izmir's health directorate, Mehmet Ozkan, rebutted suggestions of negligence. "We believe there was no neglect surrounding the deaths," he told a press conference.

Turkey is known for a having a high infant mortality rate. In 2005 it recorded 23.66 newborn babies dying out of 1,000 births, compared with 3.8 in neighboring Greece, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Premature babies are often taken to hospitals in major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir because those in small towns often lack the necessary medical equipment.