Lack of nosocomial spread of Varicella in a pediatric hospital with negative pressure ventilated patient rooms.

All patients at the new British Columbia's Children's Hospital with chickenpox or Herpes zoster are nursed with appropriate precautions in single-bed rooms provided with negative pressure ventilation. Over a period of 1 year, no nosocomial infections were detected on follow-up of 110 susceptible patients who had been on wards at the same time as six cases of chickenpox and one immunocompromised patient with cutaneous dissemination of Varicella zoster. In a preceding study at the previous hospital, with similar staff, control measures, and patient population, in an isolation facility without negative pressure ventilation, nosocomial infections occurred in seven out of 41 susceptible patients who were on the same ward as two patients with chickenpox. These findings suggest that a simple negative pressure ventilation system without air locks is a useful adjunct in the control of cutaneous Varicella infections.