Infections linked to cot deaths

In a study published in The Archives of Disease in Childhood, researchers have found that tissue samples from babies who died for no apparent reason often contain potentially harmful bacteria. Some experts believe toxins produced by these bacteria could trigger a chemical storm, which overwhelms the baby, resulting in sudden death.

Associate professor Paul Goldwater, from The Women's and Children's Hospital and the University of Adelaide in Australia, who carried out the latest research, believes bacterial infections may contribute to some sudden infant deaths.

He analysed the post mortem reports for 130 babies who had died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), 32 who had died suddenly as a result of infection, and 33 who had died of non-infectious cause, such as a road traffic accident.

He then analysed the bacterial isolates from "sterile" sites which are normally free of infections, such as heart blood, spleen, or cerebrospinal fluid, in the SIDS babies, and compared these with those of the other 65 babies.

Infection at a sterile site was rare in those infants who had died of non-infectious causes, but this was relatively common in both the SIDS babies and the babies who had died suddenly as a result of infection.

Unsurprisingly, almost one in five of the babies who had died suddenly as a result of infection had a sterile site infection. But so too did one in 10 of the SIDS babies.

In many cases, the infection was caused by Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria known to produce potentially lethal toxins.