Death caused by septicaemia, not gas leak
A baby that died from a suspected gas leak at a Hamilton home actually died of septicaemia, with gas not a factor.
The baby, who Stuff has agreed not to name, was almost four months old when he died at an address in Hamilton on February 17, 2020.
When the death occurred emergency services said they had been called to the smell of gas, which had been caused by a gas panel heater leaking.
However, in a coroner’s report recently released, it was confirmed the baby died from septicaemia, with no evidence a gas leak caused or contributed to his death, and that his lack of symptoms had given his family little warning he was seriously ill. They had tried desperately to save him with CPR once he was found not breathing.
The baby was a twin and along with his sister were cared for by wha¯ nau, the report done by Coroner Michael Robb said.
When emergency services staff arrived at the house the day the baby boy died they detected an odour of gas.
This led to an extensive investigation being conducted by WorkSafe Energy Safety, and they established while there may have been an odour, natural gas was not toxic as such, nor would it lead to asphyxia at the level possible in the home at the time.
The twins had suffered some health issues due to premature birth and were admitted to Waikato Hospital to investigate concerns about possible seizure activity.
They both had some breathing issues, but the baby that died had more pronounced breathing issues and a high temperature on occasion compared to his sister.
The days prior to his death he had been more difficult to settle and did not feed as well as his sister.
Healthline was called on February 14 and advice was given to monitor his temperature and if it got above 37 degrees, to take him to hospital.
His temperature was checked every two hours and it remained at about 37 degrees.
He slept in a bassinet in the lounge while his sister slept in another room to ensure they did not disturb each other’s sleep.
He was placed on his back but supported with a triangle pillow to try to provide him with some assistance with his breathing difficulties.
The evening of February 16 the wha¯ nau had concerns the baby was not feeding well and remained difficult to settle.
While he was physically warmer than usual, his temperature remained normal.
He was fed about midnight and sometime between 1am and 2.30pm on February 17 a member of the household went to the bathroom.
They could hear him making small grunting sounds, and they stood at the doorway of the lounge without switching the light on just to listen as he continued to sleep.
There was nothing to indicate any cause for concern or that he was in any physical distress or acutely unwell, the coroner noted.
The next morning one of the children went into the lounge and sat on the bed next to where the baby’s bassinet was placed.
A short time later, about 7.40am, one of the adults entered the room and noticed he was uncharacteristically face-down in his bassinet.
There was no indication the child had made any contact with the baby and when picked up, he was unresponsive and cold to touch.
Emergency services were called immediately and the wha¯ nau were advised on how to do CPR and efforts were undertaken and continued until emergency personnel attended and took over.
Despite all efforts, the baby boy was unable to be saved.
In response to Stuff inquiries about the incident, a police spokeswoman said emergency services staff believed they could smell gas at the address and the house occupants suggested the gas panel heater leaking could be the cause.
Six people were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure at the time.
The baby’s death was reported to the duty coroner with initial investigations identifying no direct cause of death, but further testing returned a positive test for staphylococcus hominis, Robb said in his report.
This led to the cause of death being determined as septicaemia, with the time between onset and death a matter of hours.
The investigation revealed the baby developed and died from septicaemia very quickly and it was highly unlikely there was any overt sign of him being unwell prior to falling asleep before midnight, Robb said.