A South African hospital says nine newly born children died of ‘Necrotizing Entercolitis’, an infective condition that causes the inflammation of the gut.

South Africa/CIA
South Africa/CIA

Rahima Moosa Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Frew Benson told News24 that 43 cases were confirmed at the hospital between March and July 2018.

Dr Benson said all the nine fatalities were prematurely born children. He said the hospital in Johannesburg recorded more cases than normal during the outbreak which ended in July.

The cause of the disease ‘is not well understood.” The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) is still investigating the outbreak to determine the cause of the infection.