Maryland, deadly bacteria

A Maryland hospital is reporting additional cases of a deadly bacteria. St. Agnes confirms a handful of cases of a drug resistant bacteria, but hospital officials won't say how many they're dealing with. After an anonymous tip to Eyewitness News, a spokesperson for St. Agnes confirmed what he calls a hand full of cases of acinetobacter baumannii. "It tends to cause things like pneumonia, sepsis, which is a blood infection, or serious wound infections and can result in deaths," said Howard County Health Director Dr. Peter Beilenson. In a statement, John Welby acknowledges the problem and goes on to say an aggressive infection control plan is in effect to contain it. The hospital declined on-camera interviews and it isn't saying how many cases are involved. The condition of patients and where the bacteria was found are unknown. This report comes just over a week after seven cases of the same bacterial infection were discovered at the University Of Maryland Medical Center.

Three of those patients died, but at the time, doctors didn't know what role the bacteria played in their deaths. "This is like a lot of these multi drug resistant organisms that people are concerned about. They're smart. They're adaptable," said Dr. Trish Perl from Johns Hopkins Hospital. Acinetobacter baumannii can cause serious infections, is transmitted from person to person contact and represents a major threat to people with compromised immune systems. Clean up methods and prevention practices include scrubbing down medical equipment, hospital furniture and consistent handwashing among staff. Currently, hospital officials aren't saying what kind of aggressive steps they're taking to control the infection.)