By RACHEL SPENCER

A HEALTHY young mum from Great Sankey is the first person in the UK to die after contracting the E coli virus following an antenatal test, an inquest heard.

Jane McCarthy, aged 33, of Mayfair Close, was 16 weeks pregnant with her second child when she was told there was a slight chance that her baby may have Downs Syndrome.

The next day, along with her husband, Paul, a 33-year-old sales manager, she went for an amniocentesis test.

Dr Ezzet Cozman, a consultant in gynaecology at Warrington Hospital explained that there was a slight chance that Jane could lose the baby, and left the couple for ten minutes to make the decision.

Dr Cozman, who has 13 years experience carried out the test, but the first sample contained blood, and a second sample was unsuccessful. Jane left in severe discomfort but returned three or four hours later.

Her husband Paul told the hearing how his wife had stomach pains so bad she described them as labour pains. She was briefly examined and sent home with a prescription for paracetamol.

The doctor said it may be an idea for her to stay in but she was fine to leave, and gave her a number so she could speak to staff from the gynaecology department if she grew concerned.

The following day she started vomiting, and called her GP who said he would call at her home but didn't turn up, so the couple went back to hospital.

Paul rang the number he had been given, but was told that he would have to go through A & E, although he had explained that his wife was in the first stages of miscarriage, and once they arrived, they had to wait 20 minutes to be seen.

A & E consultant Dr Ruth Spedding feared she was suffering from septicaemia, and arranged for blood samples to be taken, and stayed on past the end of her shift to make sure these were carried out.

Jane was given oxygen and placed on an intravenous drip to restore fluids, then Dr Cozman said she should be transferred to an intensive care unit at another hospital as no beds were available at Warrington.

The blood samples revealed traces of the E coli virus, then Jane suffered a spontaneous miscarriage. She was taken to theatre, while her husband was left waiting in the C23 ward for four hours.

"I couldn't understand what was happening," he said. "I was told that Jane would be back in an hour, then a lady doctor came to see me and said that Jane had had a cardiac arrest."

Breaking down, he added: "She said that she was extremely poorly then they asked if they could telephone Jane's mum and my mum and dad."

By this time, staff had resuscitated Jane, but an ultrasound scan showed fluid in her abdomen which gave cause for serious concern.

Her heart, instead of working at an efficiency rate of 65 to 70 per cent, had dropped to 17 per cent, and doctors feared she had peritonitis, a condition which could only be treated by surgery.

Jane's mum asked if her daughter was well enough to survive the operation, but Jane suffered a cardiac arrest and medics were unable to revive her.

Pathologist Dr Peter Steele said her death had been caused by cardiac arrest and septic shock. "This must have resulted from the amniocentesis test. There is no other plausible explanation." He said he only knew of one other case, in France, where the procedure had led to maternal death.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, Coroner Nicholas Rheinburg said that her death was not a natural occurrence.