February 13, 2012 — Nearly one fifth of all infectious outbreaks in hospitals have been linked to norovirus, and according to results from a nationwide survey that covered outbreaks in 289 US hospitals, those organisms were to blame for 65% of ward closings. The results of the survey appear in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
"Norovirus is emerging as an increasingly common hospital-associated organism, causing outbreaks in nonacute settings, and may lead to unit/department closures," write Emily Rhinehart, RN, MPH, CIC, from the Department of Global Loss Prevention, Chartis Insurance, Atlanta, Georgia, and colleagues.
The authors point out that even though hospital-associated infections have been studied for decades, there are few published reports zeroing in on how often they occur, how long they last, and how often they lead to closures of hospital wards.
To address that lack of data, these researchers analyzed survey results from 822 hospitals in 7 states: California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The hospitals varied in size and structure and included rural hospitals, university-affiliated teaching hospitals, and specialty healthcare facilities such as pediatric hospitals.
The survey was conducted in early 2010; all o
Am J Infect Control. 2012;40:2-8. Full text
Poster Comment:
Virus acquired easily with patients spending no time in the sun or getting no vitamin supplements.