Two Outbreaks of Primarily Noninvasive Group A Streptococcal Disease in the Same Nursing Home, New York, 1991

Abstract

Group A Streptococcus has been identified as the cause of several outbreaks of infection in residents of nursing homes. These reports described outbreaks that included persons with severe invasive disease as well as more limited infection. The purpose of this report is to describe an investigation of two consecutive outbreaks of group A Streptococcus that occurred in a single nursing home, where all affected residents had disease of mild to moderate disease severity. This report focuses on the identification of risk factors for infection and describes the approach used to control the spread of infection in the nursing home.

Infections in Psychiatric Facilities, with an Emphasis on Outbreaks

“…Outbreaks of noninvasive GAS disease in mental health units have been reported in 4 studies. [15][16][17][18] The clinical manifestations included pharyngitis, impetigo, conjunctivitis, and bacteremia. No deaths were reported.…”

Cme Activity

“…Identify the risk factors for invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease • Compare the incidence of invasive GAS disease among persons >65 years of age with that of the general population in the • Most of the literature about GAS disease in nursing homes has focused on acute outbreaks with little attention paid to sporadic disease in this setting (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Factors contributing to these outbreaks include GAS-infected caregivers, inadequate infection control measures, resident-to-resident spread, and the presence of a chronically infected or persistently colonized resident (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). On the basis of our experience with GAS surveillance in Minnesota, we suspect that a lack of recognition of GAS disease occurrence within nursing homes may also be a contributing factor.…”