I was getting ready for school this morning and I happened to glance at The New Zealand Herald newspaper on my way past the kitchen bench. My eyes fell upon an article about this, and I had a quick read. The newspaper’s title on the story shocked me, so I was eager to find out more.

An outbreak of Staphylococcus Aureus (a deadly bacteria) has infected at least 21 babies at Auckland’s City Hospital. This bacteria can cause diseases such as Meningitis, Pneumonia, Septicemia and Toxic Shock Syndrome for babies. It isn’t so bad for the rest of us though, usually producing only boils. But the bacteria is one of the top three fatal infections for newborn babies. All of the babies are being tested for the infection, and some of them are already seriously ill. But the hospital staff aren’t entirely sure if this is because of Staphylococcus Aureus or not.

I was pretty gutted when I read the article about this, because I thought of the babies’ mothers and/or fathers, and how it must have affected them. I mean, how would you feel if you had just gotten a new pet or something, and then you found out that they may be about to die? Yeah. Pretty disappointed. I wish that there was some way we could help the babies and their families, but for now all we can do is hope that they get better.