2 more babies die in N.J.

Two more premature babies died in a New Jersey hospital last week, bringing the total to three since a bacterial outbreak there in September.

Both babies contracted A. baumannii six weeks ago at University Hospital in Newark, the New Jersey Department of Health announced Tuesday.

The infants died last week, but the Department of Health said it was not notified until Monday. A survey team was on site Tuesday “investigate the hospital’s internal notification policies, governance, and other factors that relate to reporting of deaths of cases during an ongoing outbreak,” health officials said.

Due to the premature births, an official cause of death has not been determined.

Four babies in total were exposed to the bacteria since September; three have died and the fourth was discharged from the hospital last month.

A University Hospital spokeswoman told NJ.com staff “have worked diligently since the Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria was discovered in our neonatal intensive care unit to control the outbreak.”