Two newborns die from hospital-acquired infections at Nantes university hospital

The CHU de Nantes announced that two newborns died as a result of nosocomial infections that have affected its neonatal intensive care and reanimation units since 2022. The hospital also detected two cases of meningitis in infants, without specifying the total number of affected children. While the most severe episodes are now under control, an ongoing MRSA outbreak continues to be closely monitored, with no fatalities directly attributed to it so far.

A January 2026 audit by the Centre d’appui pour la prévention des infections associées aux soins des Pays de la Loire highlighted ongoing non-compliant practices among medical, paramedical staff and external service providers. In response, a separate external expertise mission was launched in June 2026 to evaluate current procedures and identify transmission factors; its report is awaited. Each year the neonatal units care for roughly 850 newborns, underscoring the importance of robust infection-prevention measures.