Health authorities are investigating an intravenous fluid bag with an insect inside that was found at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday while being administered to a five-month-old child.

Parents of the infant, who was hospitalized for urinary stone treatment at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital in western Seoul, found what appears to be a tiny insect floating inside the plastic bag connected to the child, at around 8 p.m. Sunday. It was about 14 hours after the young patient began receiving fluids from it. 

The administration was stopped immediately and the child was put under close medical observation, undergoing several tests, the hospital said. As of Tuesday morning, there is no sign of a potential impact on the patient’s conditions, it added.

The hospital reported the case to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for further investigation. In the meantime, it has banned the administration of such IV bag products to patients, it said.

Families of the patient blamed hospital staff for negligence and a flawed hygiene management of the medical equipment.

The hospital, however, put the blame to the manufacturer of the IV bag or the needle, suspecting that the insect may have gotten inside during the manufacturing process.

It is nearly impossible for the insect to find its way through the needle and end up in a sealed IV bag, it claimed.

Both the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the hospital said there has been no reported case of an insect found inside an IV bag.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)