GOLD PRICE FALLS Kathmandu, 17 Sept.: Price of gold fell Rs.863 per tola Monday. The yellow metal is trading at Rs.60,897 per tola/ nnnn MATERNITY HOSPITAL INFECTED TESTS CONFIRM Kathmandu, 17 Sept.: Shanti Thapa of Dhading was among hundreds of women who reached the Maternity Hospital in Thapathali for delivery on Sunday, Manish Gautam writes in The Kathmandu Post.. However, hospital authorities refused to admit Thapa and asked her relatives to take her elsewhere. “We don’t have money to take her to private hospitals,” Thapa’s mother-in-law told the Post. A sudden closure of four operation theatres (OT) at the government-owned Paropakar Maternity Hospital since Saturday has hit hard patients. Everyday, over 100 deliveries take place in the hospital, with around 30 to 35 of the patients requiring to go under the knife. The hospital decided to shut the OTs after eight of the 16 patients who had undergone the Caesarian section on Thursday developed symptoms of high-fever and vomiting. Following the incident, three of the women were sent to Kantipur Hospital, two to Star Hospital and the remaining to Nagarik Hospital, Patan Hospital and Kathmandu Medical College following complications in their health. A statement issued by the hospital said the OTs will remain closed until Tuesday as they are “infected.” Director of the hospital Dr Shila Burma said a preliminary investigation has revealed that five kinds of bacteria, including Ecoli and Klebsiella, were found in equipment used in the operation theatres. Sources at the hospital said this is not the first time such infection has been reported in the OTs. Similar ‘hospital-acquired infections’ were reported twice in the past two years, they said. Further, many say the OTs in the hospital are more than 35 years old with all of them lying in a building that was constructed in 1959. Faculty member of the Department of Microbiology at the Kathmandu Medical College, Dr Badri Thapa, said as all the patients who developed complications showed similar symptoms, it is likely that there is a common source of the Nosocomial infections (NI), commonly called hospital-acquired infections. “Sources of these infections include contaminated surgical instruments, improper management of air circulation and water used in the hospital,” Dr Badri said. “The bacteria causing such infections is very strong and even a single one can multiply to around 50 billion within a couple of hours. This needs to be dealt with seriously.” nnnn