Rigshospitalet has informed politicians in the Capital Region that 32 infants in its neonatal department have tested positive for staphylococcus bacteria since May 2026.
DR reports that the cases involve a specific type of the MSSA staphylococcus bacterium. The figures come from information the hospital provided to regional politicians, as described in DR’s report on September 26, 2026.
Berlingske, which also has access to the material, describes the cases as a new outbreak affecting critically ill infants. Six of the 32 children have been treated with antibiotics. The remaining infants have been carriers of the bacterium.
MSSA is a commonly known bacterium that can be treated with widely used antibiotics. According to Berlingske, the assessment is that neither the infections nor the treatment has led to known complications among the affected children.
Hygiene procedures tightened
The latest outbreak has led Rigshospitalet to tighten its procedures for hand and forearm hygiene. At the same time, the hospital states that outbreaks of this type can be difficult to avoid entirely.
One reason is that the bacteria are common among healthy people. Intensive treatment in neonatal departments also requires close physical contact between staff and patients.
Morten Breindahl, chief physician at the department, told Berlingske that the hospital’s responsibility is both to protect current patients and to learn as much as possible from the case. He linked that learning to strengthening patient safety going forward.
Not the first outbreak
Berlingske has previously reported on staphylococcus infections at Rigshospitalet. In May 2025, the newspaper described how 68 critically ill infants had been infected. That outbreak also affected the department for premature babies.
That earlier case involved the MRSA staphylococcus bacterium, which is resistant to the antibiotics normally used. Carrying MRSA is not dangerous for healthy children and adults. For patients who are ill or weakened, the bacterium can cause serious infections.
TV 2 repeats the details of the current case and notes that the outbreak reported in May 2025 involved MRSA rather than MSSA. The current cases concern the more treatable MSSA type.
Berlingske reports that repeated outbreaks have affected the neonatal department over several years, despite measures taken to control them. The current cases were first identified in May 2026, according to the material shared with the Capital Region.
