A mother and her new-born baby have contracted MRSA following the birth at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
Razvana Ali, 19, was diagnosed with the hospital superbug following the delivery of her daughter by caesarean section.
She began to suspect baby Marwha had fallen victim to the same bug when she developed a rash on her body which began oozing.
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The family's GP initially thought it was nothing more than eczema and prescribed cream, despite Razvana voicing her fears about MRSA.
It took several trips to the GP and two hospital visits before MRSA was eventually confirmed and the baby was admitted to hospital for treatment.
Now Razvana and her husband Mohammed, 28, of Swarland Grove, Little Horton, Bradford, are demanding to know why it took more than two months for the diagnosis of MRSA to be made for their baby who was born on February 5.
Bosses at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said they were taking the "very rare" case "extremely seriously" and have invited the Alis to discuss the situation.
Razvana said: "I was gutted when I found out about my little one because I had been saying for two weeks I thought she had MRSA as well, but no one took any notice of me," she said.
"Doctors just dismissed my concerns. Even though they knew I had it, they still did not bother checking her."
The mum's ordeal began about three weeks after the birth when her caesarean scar opened up and started oozing.
Doctors took swabs from the infected wound and found she had MRSA. She was treated with antibiotics and the wound is now healing well.
But then Marwha developed a nasty rash on her skin which was oozing.
"I thought this is what happened to me' and took her to the GP," said Razvana. "But they just gave her eczema cream."
When the cream failed to work she again consulted doctors at Parklands Medical Centre. "It was really irritating her and she was crying constantly," said Razvana.
"You could see it was getting worse. They said that if I thought it was that bad I should take her to hospital so I did and they just said the same thing and sent me home."
But two days later on Wednesday, April 9, the family took Marwha to A&E at Bradford Royal Infirmary for the second time as they feared she was getting worse.
This time Marwha was taken to the children's ward and a decision was taken to admit her and test for MRSA. To make matters worse for the family no bed was available for her in Bradford and she was transferred to Calderdale Royal Infirmary in Halifax in the early hours where she was given a room of her own because of the suspected infection.
MRSA was later confirmed from tests carried out in Bradford.
"She was treated with antibiotics but I do not think it is working as it is spreading under her neck," said Razvana, who added no one had been able to tell her how she became infected.
"At the end of the day they said they don't know if it was on my skin or from the hospital, so I am none the wiser," she said.
Marwha is still receiving treatment and fresh swabs were taken this week at BRI to find out if she still has MRSA.
A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "Cases of MRSA in mums and babies are very rare and are taken extremely seriously by the foundation trust.
"It is quite common for babies to develop rashes, which can be a symptom of many illnesses.
"As soon as we suspected that baby Marwha had MRSA, we immediately gave her some antibiotics through a drip and arranged for an appropriate transfer, as our children's wards were experiencing a high volume of patients.
"We appreciate that this must have been a very worrying time for Marwha's family and would welcome discussions with them about Marwha's treatment."
A spokesman for Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust, said: "Neither the tPCT nor the practice has received a complaint but we would fully investigate any concerns if we did."
In the last financial year there were 47 cases of MRSA at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, far exceeding a Government imposed target of 18 cases. Figures published this week show there has been a slight rise in the number of cases of MRSA across England.
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