Brazil probes 8 child deaths at hospital amid claims of deadly infections
Brazilian authorities are investigating the deaths of eight children at a private hospital in São Paulo after grieving parents alleged their kids contracted infections and died from sepsis.The São Paulo Civil Police received complaints involving children who died at Salvalus Hospital, with victims ranging from newborns to 12-year-olds, the state’s Public Security Secretariat said Wednesday.The deaths reportedly occurred beginning in January, but the cases were formally reported to authorities this week.“The police are conducting investigations, including interviewing healthcare professionals and witnesses, and a full analysis of medical records, in order to clarify the causes of death,” the Public Security Secretariat said.Brazilian newspaper Metropoles reported Friday that it had reviewed the death certificates of 16 children who died at the hospital this year.One of the children was Alice de Andrades, who died April 3, three days after her first birthday, Metropoles reported.
Her mother, Leticia Ferreira, 29, told online news outlet G1 that Alice had been diagnosed with Dandy-Walker syndrome, a rare congenital brain condition, and was admitted to Salvalus in November 2025 for a procedure to insert a feeding tube into her stomach.Ferreira said Alice was feeling well when she was admitted and was expected to spend about a week recovering in the intensive care unit.But the child developed breathing difficulties after the procedure, her mother said.
During an attempt to remove her breathing tube, a stomach stitch came loose, causing fluid to leak, according to Ferreira.Alice was taken into surgery, where she suffered cardiac arrest and doctors found fluid buildup in her lungs.Alice later underwent heart surgery after doctors discovered a ventricular septal defect, a congenital heart condition.
Although her condition improved, she subsequently suffered a head injury requiring surgery to drain fluid from her brain.In February, doctors discovered KPC bacteria ...