Áurea Morillo1, Verónica González2, Josefa Aguayo3, Concepción Carreño4, María José Torres5, Daniel Jarana3, María José Artacho6, Francisco Jiménez3, Manuel Conde4, Javier Aznar7. 1. Unidad Clínica de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain. Electronic address: aurea.morillo@gmail.com. 2. Unidad Clínica de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain; Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, CSIC, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain. 3. Unidad Clínica de Neonatología, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain. 4. Unidad Clínica de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain. 5. Departamento de Microbiología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain; Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, CSIC, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain. 6. Unidad Clínica de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain; Departamento de Microbiología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain. 7. Unidad Clínica de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Microbiología y Medicina Preventiva, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain; Departamento de Microbiología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain; Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, CSIC, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate a Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens) outbreak in a Neonatal Unit in a tertiary university hospital. METHODS: Descriptive study of children admitted to the Unit with S. marcescens infection from November 2012 to March 2013. Conventional microbiological methods for clinical and environmental samples were used. The clonal relationship between all available isolates was established by molecular methods. A multidisciplinary team was formed, and preventive measures were taken. RESULTS: S. marcescens was isolated from 18 children. The overall attack rate was 12%, and the case fatality rate in the Intensive Care Unit was 23.5%. The most prevalent types of infections were pneumonia (6), conjunctivitis (6), and bloodstream infection (5). Clinical isolates and environmental isolates obtained from an incubator belonged to a unique clone. The clonal relationship between all S. marcescens strains helped us to identify the possible source of the outbreak. CONCLUSION: Isolation of S. marcescens from stored water in a container, and from the surface of an incubator after cleaning, suggests a possible environmental source as the outbreak origin, which has been perpetuated due to a failure of cleaning methods in the Unit. The strict hygiene and cleaning measures were the main factors that contributed to the end of the outbreak. Copyright Â
OBJECTIVE: To investigate a Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens) outbreak in a Neonatal Unit in a tertiary university hospital. METHODS: Descriptive study of children admitted to the Unit with S. marcescensinfection from November 2012 to March 2013. Conventional microbiological methods for clinical and environmental samples were used. The clonal relationship between all available isolates was established by molecular methods. A multidisciplinary team was formed, and preventive measures were taken. RESULTS:S. marcescens was isolated from 18 children. The overall attack rate was 12%, and the case fatality rate in the Intensive Care Unit was 23.5%. The most prevalent types of infections were pneumonia (6), conjunctivitis (6), and bloodstream infection (5). Clinical isolates and environmental isolates obtained from an incubator belonged to a unique clone. The clonal relationship between all S. marcescens strains helped us to identify the possible source of the outbreak. CONCLUSION: Isolation of S. marcescens from stored water in a container, and from the surface of an incubator after cleaning, suggests a possible environmental source as the outbreak origin, which has been perpetuated due to a failure of cleaning methods in the Unit. The strict hygiene and cleaning measures were the main factors that contributed to the end of the outbreak. Copyright Â
Authors: Laura Moles; Marta Gómez; Elena Moroder; Esther Jiménez; Diana Escuder; Gerardo Bustos; Ana Melgar; Jeniffer Villa; Rosa Del Campo; Fernando Chaves; Juan M Rodríguez Journal: Antimicrob Resist Infect Control Date: 2019-08-09 Impact factor: 4.887