TY - JOUR
TI - Clinical and epidemiological aspects of an enterovirus outbreak in a
neonatal unit
AU - Syriopoulou, VP
AU - Hadjichristodoulou, C
AU - Daikos, GL
AU - Pirounaki,
AU - M
AU - Chatzicou, V
AU - Pavlopoulou, I
AU - Anagnostakou, M and
AU - Theodoridou, M
AU - Dellagrammaticas, H
JO - JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
PY - 2002
VL - 51
TODO - 4
SP - 275-280
PB - W B SAUNDERS CO LTD
SN - 0195-6701
TODO - 10.1053/jhin.2002.1253
TODO - enterovirus; outbreak; neonates; PCR
TODO - An outbreak of enterovirus infection occurred among neonates in a
maternity hospital between July 7 and 22, 1999. Twenty neonates became
ill (18 confirmed and two probable), an attack rate of 33%. The
incubation period ranged from three to six days (mean, 4.2). The male:
female ratio was 11 :9 and the mean age at the onset of illness was 5.5
days. All the babies had fever, eight, a maculopapular rash, and six had
symptoms of gastroenteritis, 11 developed meningitis. Nineteen neonates
required hospitalization for three to seven days, but all were
discharged home without sequelae. Enteroviral RNA was detected in all of
18 urines, and 14 cerebrospinal fluid specimens tested. A case-control
study was conducted to determine risk factors associated with the
outbreak. Rooming in the nursery ward was a significant risk factor
(odds ratio= 33.35; 95% confidence interval, 3.79-800; P = 0.00002). No
association was found between illness and other possible risk factors.
Appropriate control measures resulted in resolution of the outbreak. Our
findings demonstrate the potential for enteroviruses to cause widespread
illness among newborns, and emphasize the usefulness of polymerase chain
reaction in the early diagnosis of infection, and underline the role of
effective control measures in interrupting viral transmission. (C) 2002
The Hospital Infection Society.
ER -