Patient notification about suspected hospital-associated outbreaks of invasive mold infections: Considerations for public health and hospital personnel

Abstract

A common type of fungal disease investigation involves hospital-associated clusters of invasive mold infections (IMIs), which typically occur among immunocompromised patients. Responding to IMI clusters can be challenging for public health and hospital personnel for several reasons such as difficulty of confirming the existence of an outbreak, difficulty of determining source. Although many resources exist to guide patient notification about healthcare incidents (eg, bloodborne exposures, disease outbreaks), IMI clusters involve special considerations related to the complex diseases, uncertain exposures, and differential benefits and risks of notification. Early, nuanced communication about hospital-associated IMI clusters is almost always the best course of action to help reduce risks to patients’ health and foster trust between patients and hospitals.