Report of a rotavirus outbreak in an adult nursing home population.
Rotavirus is a double-stranded RNA enteric virus that is the most important cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. Symptoms range from mild diarrhea to a life-threatening illness. Rotavirus occasionally afflicts adult members of the infected infant's family, geriatric patients, and immunocompromised hosts. We report the outbreak of rotavirus infection in a large nursing home facility.


METHODS
In September 1996, 19 residents and 15 staff members of a 64-bed nursing home facility began to develop an acute, febrile illness associated with vomiting and diarrhea. The Public Health Service conducted an outbreak investigation. The infection displayed fecal-to-oral transmission with an incubation period of 1 to 2 days. The median duration of illness was 3 days for residents and 1 day for staff members. One resident died as a result of illness complications. Stool antigen tests from five residents and two employees were positive for rotavirus. Infection control policies were reevaluated, and interventions to arrest the outbreak were undertaken. The employee sick leave policy was strictly enforced. Education seminars were held, with employees reinforcing the concepts of enteric isolation and proper handwashing techniques. Surfaces and objects in the dining area were disinfected with a weak chloride solution. Once these measures were implemented, the rotavirus outbreak was contained.


CONCLUSIONS
Rotavirus is a common cause of infectious diarrhea that can afflict the geriatric population. When infection occurs in a nursing home facility, rapid transmission can develop and morbidity can result. Nursing home infection control policies need to be evaluated constantly and new measures need to be implemented should an outbreak of rotavirus occur.
Edmonson
L M
LM
Olmsted County Public Health Services, MN, USA.
Ebbert
J O
JO
Evans
J M
JM