title: Outbreak of staphylococcal bullous impetigo in a maternity ward linked to an asymptomatic healthcare worker.
abstract: An outbreak of staphylococcal bullous impetigo occurred over a period of five months in a maternity ward involving seven infected and two colonised neonates. The skin lesions were due to epidermolytic toxin A-producing Staphylococcus aureus. Infection control measures were implemented and a retrospective case-control study performed. Contact with an auxiliary nurse was the only risk factor for cases of bullous impetigo (P<0.01). The nurse cared for all seven cases and was an asymptomatic nasal carrier of the epidemic strain. Repeated courses of decontamination treatment failed to eradicate carriage. Nine months after the last case, another neonate developed a more severe form of bullous impetigo and the auxiliary nurse was reassigned to an adult ward.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Coordination de la Lutte contre les Infections Nosocomiales du Sud-Ouest, CHU, Bordeaux cedex, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Occelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanie
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vigier
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dauwalder
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darwiche
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Provenzano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dumartin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parneix
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Venier
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005083:Exfoliatins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007169:Impetigo / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D017757:Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient; D008297:Male; D012872:Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013207:Staphylococcal Skin Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D005083:Exfoliatins