Norovirus, a pathogen that often causes food poisoning and gastroenteritis, was responsible for 18.2 percent of all infection outbreaks and 65 percent of ward closures in U.S. hospitals during a two-year period, according to a new study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Thirty-five percent of the 822 hospitals responding had investigated at least one outbreak in the previous two years. Four organisms caused nearly 60 percent of the outbreaks: norovirus (18.2 percent), Staphylococcus aureus (17.5 percent), Acinetobacter spp (13.7 percent), and Clostridium difficile (10.3 percent). These results reflect 386 outbreak investigations reported by 289 hospitals over a 24-month period.
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Thirty-five percent of the 822 hospitals responding had investigated at least one outbreak in the previous two years. Four organisms caused nearly 60 percent of the outbreaks: norovirus (18.2 percent), Staphylococcus aureus (17.5 percent), Acinetobacter spp (13.7 percent), and Clostridium difficile (10.3 percent). These results reflect 386 outbreak investigations reported by 289 hospitals over a 24-month period.
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