7 deaths, 31 cases reported since bacterial outbreak found at Virginia Mason in Seattle

SEATTLE — Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is investigating a bacterial outbreak after 31 patients at its First Hill campus were infected.

The Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria was first detected at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in October 2022 and the latest confirmed case was identified on April 3. The bacteria can cause pneumonia or bloodstream and wound infections.

Public Health - Seattle & King County said of those 31 patients, seven have died since the infection was identified, however it is unknown if the bacteria caused their deaths as those patients were hospitalized for various conditions. The bacteria live naturally in our environment and can be part of the bacteria that live in a healthy digestive system. However, when it gets into other areas of the body it can cause infection. This usually only happens when a person has other medical conditions that weaken their immune system.

“Whenever you are in a hospital setting and you are getting a surgery or an IV, anything that is not normally in your body there is always a risk," said Dr. Arooj Simmonds, Division Chief Medical Officer, Providence Swedish. “For the average person I wouldn’t be concerned but I would be concerned about it the same way I am with anything else.”

There is also no clear incubation time period for the bacteria and public health officials said people can have it in their system for months without any symptoms, making it difficult to identify when and where someone may have been infected.

“Of course, the headline is startling, and anything death is something that weighs heavily, but we have lots of procedures in our hospitals,” said Dr. Simmonds. “Each of the deaths has to be examined to what else is going on with that patient.”

Sydney Bersante, Interim President of Virginia Mason Medical Center, said patients who tested positive for the bacteria were notified and given treatment when necessary. Bersante said the hospital is continuing to investigate the source of the outbreak. The hospital noted that the risk of transmission is extremely low and they are continuing to take steps to avoid additional transmission.

"Patients with these medically complex conditions tend to be hospitalized for long durations or multiple times over a long period of time, typically have many procedures, and are treated on multiple areas in a hospital, all making it very difficult to identify where and when the source may have occurred," a spokesperson with Public Health wrote in a statement to KOMO News.