São Paulo Police Investigate Eight Child Deaths at Private Hospital Following Infection Allegations
Brazilian authorities opened a formal investigation into the deaths of eight children at Salvalus Hospital in São Paulo after grieving parents reported that their kids contracted fatal infections and died from sepsis, the state’s Public Security Secretariat announced Wednesday. The São Paulo Civil Police received complaints involving victims ranging from newborns to 12-year-olds at the private facility. While the fatalities reportedly began in January, families formally brought the cases to law enforcement authorities this week.
Medical Records and Healthcare Professionals Under Review
Investigators are currently reviewing extensive medical records and interviewing witnesses and healthcare professionals to determine the exact causes of death. “The police are conducting investigations, including interviewing healthcare professionals and witnesses, and a full analysis of medical records, in order to clarify the causes of death,” the Public Security Secretariat stated. Brazilian newspaper Metropoles reported Friday that it reviewed death certificates for 16 children who died at the facility this year, deepening the scrutiny on the hospital’s pediatric unit.
Complications Surrounding the Death of Alice de Andrades
Among the children under investigation is Alice de Andrades, who passed away on April 3, just three days after her first birthday, according to Metropoles. Her mother, 29-year-old social worker Leticia Ferreira, told online news outlet G1 that Alice was born with Dandy-Walker syndrome, a rare congenital brain condition. Ferreira admitted her daughter to Salvalus Hospital in November 2025 for a routine procedure to insert a feeding tube into her stomach, expecting a standard one-week recovery in the intensive care unit.
Medical complications mounted quickly after the procedure when Alice developed breathing difficulties. During an attempt to remove her breathing tube, a stomach stitch came loose and caused fluid to leak, Ferreira said. Emergency surgery followed, during which Alice suffered cardiac arrest and doctors found fluid buildup in her lungs. Physicians subsequently diagnosed a ventricular septal defect, a congenital heart condition requiring heart surgery. Although her condition temporarily stabilized, she later suffered a head injury requiring another operation to drain fluid from her brain. In February, doctors detected KPC bacteria in her brain—an organism known for producing enzymes that render infections highly resistant to antibiotics. Alice suffered two cardiac arrests the day before she died. Her death certificate listed Dandy-Walker syndrome, hydrocephalus, acute respiratory failure, infectious ventriculitis, and sepsis of pulmonary origin as contributing conditions, Metropoles reported.
Hospital Parent Company Responds to Family Claims
Hapvida, part of the Notre Dame Intermedic group and the parent company of Salvalus Hospital, stated that the facility has treated more than 1,000 children in 2026. The company pushed back against claims of a systemic hospital infection, stating that assessments “indicate distinct clinical histories, with no common infectious origin identified among the cases examined.” However, attorney Eduarda Gomes, who represents 30 mothers whose children died at the facility, told G1 that the hospital’s explanation falls short. “We hope that all of this will be investigated, that the authorities will truly seek out those responsible, and hold the doctors and the hospital accountable,” Gomes said.
Families Seek Accountability as the Probe Continues
For mothers like Ferreira, the police inquiry offers a fragile path toward understanding the loss of their children. “We are now left with this expectation of wanting justice for our children, of investigating the cases, of understanding what really happened,” Ferreira said. “I can only wait and hope that justice will be done.” Investigators have not yet released a timeline for when the civil police will conclude their analysis of the hospital’s records and interviews.
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