[Nosocomial infections due to adenovirus in a paediatric unit].
OBJECTIVE
We carried out a retrospective analysis of an outbreak of adenovirus (AdV) infections in a paediatric unit. The aim of the study was to analyse cases, determine the route of transmission and to evaluate the efficacy of the prevention measures.


METHODS
The study was performed by recollection of AdV infection cases during a period of 1 year and the results were compared with the list of clinical cases recorded during the epidemic. The clinical files of children with a positive specimen were retrospectively analysed. During that period, five members of the medical staff showed clinical signs and symptoms of AdV infection. A throat swab was collected from a subset of the staff.


RESULTS
Among nine patients with positive AdV detection, six were infected with an Adv type 2. Six were nosocomially-acquired, the other two were only probable nosocomial infections. The index case was a child presenting a febrile diarrhoea 48 h prior to being admitted to the hospital. Nosocomial transmission was associated with the prolonged shedding of the virus with faeces of the infected cases. The specimens collected from the staff remained negative. The outcome was favourable for all children.


CONCLUSIONS
Prevention measures, implemented when the epidemic was characterised, allowed the control of the nosocomial outbreak.
Najioullah
F
F
Laboratoire de virologie des HCL, domaine Rockefeller, 8, avenue Rockefeller, 69373 Lyon cedex 08, France. najiou@rockefeller.univ-lyon1.fr
Tissot Guerraz
F
F
Thouvenot
D
D
Milon
M-P
MP
Lachaux
A
A
Floret
D
D
D000258:Adenovirus Infections, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies