title: Analysis of a potential cluster of rhinovirus infections in patients and staff on two haemato-oncology wards.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human rhinoviruses (HRV) cause the common cold, increased mortality in patients attending elderly care facilities and significant morbidity as well as mortality in the post-transplantation setting.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to determine if there had been a breakdown in infection control practice in a large haemato-oncology centre. Molecular techniques had detected increased numbers of HRV in respiratory samples from patients and staff over a 6-week period. Typing was performed to investigate the possibility of transmission between individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective study having detected HRV RNA in combined nose and throat swab samples that were collected from 13 individuals: 8 patients and 5 staff members, in the haemato-oncology wards of a tertiary referral centre in January and February 2011. The 5'NTR and the VP4/VP2 region were used for HRV typing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 3 HRV species were detected with 7 HRV-A, 1 HRV-B, 4 HRV-C and 1 untyped. None of the individuals were infected by the same HRV serotype. Three individuals had multiple samples collected: 1 patient had an HRV-B infection over a 4-week period, 1 patient had an HRV-A infection over 3 months and 1 staff member had an HRV-C infection over 1 week, each shedding an unchanged serotype throughout the whole period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nucleotide sequence analysis confirmed that there was no breakdown in infection control measures. No transmission incidents had occurred between patients and/or between staff and patients.
authors.affiliation: South London Specialist Virology Centre, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill SE5 9RS.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cutino-Moguel
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, King's College London School of Medicine, London SE1 7EH, UK; Department of Infectious Diseases and Centre for Clinical Infection and Diagnostics Research (CIDR), Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London SE1 7EH, UK.
authors.forename: I L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Lauinger
authors.affiliation: South London Specialist Virology Centre, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill SE5 9RS.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: South London Specialist Virology Centre, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill SE5 9RS. Electronic address: mark.zuckerman@nhs.net.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zuckerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, King's College London School of Medicine, London SE1 7EH, UK; Department of Infectious Diseases and Centre for Clinical Infection and Diagnostics Research (CIDR), Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London SE1 7EH, UK.
authors.forename: C Y W
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Haematological Medicine, Denmark Hill SE5 9RS.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devereux
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003139:Common Cold / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000821:virology; D010361:Patients; D010614:Pharynx / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012229:Rhinovirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Cluster; Haemato-oncology; Rhinovirus