An outbreak of hepatitis A on a hospital ward

Abstract

An outbreak of hepatitis A has been recognised on a medical ward of a district general hospital. Eleven nurses and one patient were reported to have hepatitis over a period of 18 days in October, 1984. Specific tests for hepatitis A IgM were positive in all cases. Following extensive investigations, the outbreak was traced to a female patient who had recently returned from India and who was incontinent. Her serum, when tested subsequently, showed evidence of recent hepatitis A infection. The implications of this outbreak are discussed.

Hepatitis A and B seropositivity among medical students

“…The mean age of the students was 21 ± 2 years (range [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Most of the students (n = 132, 53.4%) were from the western parts of Turkey.…”

“…The majority of HAV outbreaks have been reported in paediatric or neonatal intensive care units, but some outbreaks have also been reported from general wards [20]. Outbreaks are often related to breakdowns in infection control procedures.…”

“…Outbreaks are often related to breakdowns in infection control procedures. Close patient contact, suboptimal hygienic working conditions, incomplete hand washing, neglected glove use during exposure to body fluids, drinking beverages in medical units and faecal incontinence of young children may put HCW and HSS at increased risk for the disease [18][19][20][21].…”

Hepatitis A among health workers in Paris hospitals

“…The transmission of other infections through fecal exposure, and the occurrence of nosocomial outbreaks of HAV due to orofecal transmission [Ebisawa, 1984;Klein et al, 1984;Skidmore et al, 1985;Drusin et al, 1987] underline the need for good fecal hygiene in hospitals [Sepkowitz, 1996]. This is particularly important for HAV, as the virus remains infectious for a long time at room temperature [McCaustland et al, 1982].…”

“…The occurrence of nosocomial outbreaks due to HAV transmission from patients to nurses [Goodman et al, 1982;Klein et al, 1984;Skidmore et al, 1985;Drusin et al, 1987] and vice versa [Ebisawa, 1984] is well documented. Foodborne outbreaks [Meyers et al, 1975] have also been reported in the hospital setting.…”