BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio – An Ohio hospital says tests point to an anesthesiologist as the likely source of bacterial meningitis that infected two pregnant women, killing one of them.
Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine says the doctor gave a spinal anesthesia to both women before they delivered their healthy babies May 21 and did not wear a face mask.
Both women became sick and one died May 23.
The hospital said Thursday it's common for physicians not to wear a mask during such procedures. But its statement also said federal testing determined the bacteria was a form found in saliva and may have been transmitted through breathing or speaking.
The anesthesiologist has not been identified but the hospital says he has stopped practicing there, for now.
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