Turkey: Forty premature babies die in two months

A Turkish hospital is under investigation after 13 babies in its care died within a 24 hour period.

The Tepecik hospital in Izmir is being investigated for possible medical negligence after serious questions were raised about its standards of postnatal care.

In July, a further 27 babies died within 15 days of being in the care of the Zekai Tahir Burak hospital in Ankara. All 40 babies who died over the two-month period were born prematurely.

The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has publicly voiced concerns that the deaths may have been caused by neglect.

Doctors initially attributed the deaths in July to hypertension, heart failure or birth complications, but government investigations said the risk of infection due to staff shortages could have been responsible.

The maternity unit was subsequently closed and put under quarantine as doctors searched for traces of infection. The results are expected in the coming days.