title: Influenza A virus outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nosocomial infections with influenza virus are rarely recognized in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). An outbreak of influenza A virus infection in the NICU of an urban county hospital during the 1997 to 1998 influenza season is reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical and virologic data were recorded in all symptomatic NICU patients after influenza A infection was diagnosed in one infant in October, 1997.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Influenza A/H3N2 was isolated from two of four symptomatic infants. The application of rapid diagnostic techniques for the characterization of influenza virus infection allowed the timely institution of basic infection control measures, limiting this outbreak. Resistance to amantadine was documented for the first time in this patient population by reverse transcription-PCR within 48 h of treatment in one case.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevention by immunization is a priority in those caring for high risk NICU patients.
authors.affiliation: Sections of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. fmunoz@neo.bcm.tmc.edu
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Atmar
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia-Prats
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Baxter
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Englund
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017053:Infection Control; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000821:virology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral