The family of a baby who fell ill due to a dangerous bacteria which spread in the NICU of India Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has alleged the hospital and the government of refusing to approve overseas medical treatment.

The Burkholderia cepacia bacteria spread in the NICU in March this year and five newborns were affected, all of whom were on ventilator support at the time of diagnosis. They were sent to India for further treatment.

One of the babies now needs a follow up visit and the family has expressed concern as he continues to struggle even with minor issues like common colds or fevers. But they are reluctant to go back to IGMH.

The family complained over the main government hospital's refusal to issue a referral letter to approve the baby's follow up visit in India. IGMH insists that the treatment is available in the Maldives.

"We don't understand why the IGMH and the government refuse to help in this. The IGMH said they would do an endoscopy to confirm that he needs to be sent abroad. But how can we trust the IGMH in this situation?" the family questioned.

IGMH had been out of disinfectant wipes when the bacteria spread in the NICU and the hospital was using bleach diluted in water as a disinfectant. A senior doctor told Adhadhu that they do not know why the hospital had run out of the wipes.

"[When the disease spread] we used our alternative option. [The alternative option is] cleaning solutions. [It's] also a disinfectant. Bleach is our alternative now," Dr. Nazla Muthafa said at the time.

It took 20 days to control the spread of the multi-drug resistant organisms in the NICU. Two of the infected children were in critical condition. IGMH did not publicly announce the incident until May 1.