Colonization with multidrug-resistant organisms in evacuees after Hurricane Katrina.
After Hurricane Katrina, 50 patients were evacuated to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, with limited medical records. The infection control department ordered contact precautions for 16 patients. Surveillance cultures performed on admission identified colonization with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in 9 patients (18%). Presence of a wound was the strongest predictor for MDR colonization. More data are needed to reliably predict MDR bacterial colonization.
Seybold
Ulrich
U
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA. useybol@emory.edu
White
Nancy
N
Wang
Yun F
YF
Halvosa
J Sue
JS
Blumberg
Henry M
HM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D004190:Disasters; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D008145:Louisiana; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D016635:Universal Precautions; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000382:microbiology*