title: Lack of Comprehensive Outbreak Detection in Hospitals.
abstract: Timely identification of outbreaks of hospital-associated infections is needed to implement control measures and minimize impact. Survey results from 33 hospitals indicated that most hospitals lacked a formal cluster definition and all targeted a very limited group of prespecified pathogens. Standardized, statistically based outbreak detection could greatly improve current practice.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Population Medicine,Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute,Boston,Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Meghan A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: 3Division of Infectious Diseases,Department of Medicine,University of California Irvine School of Medicine,Orange,California.
authors.forename: Susan S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: 4Division of Infectious Diseases,Department of Medicine,Massachusetts General Hospital,Boston,Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Alyssa R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Letourneau
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Population Medicine,Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute,Boston,Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Rebecca E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kaganov
authors.affiliation: 5Premier,Charlotte,North Carolina.
authors.forename: Jennifer R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Peeples
authors.affiliation: 6Division of Infectious Diseases,Department of Medicine,Christiana Care Health System,Newark,Delaware.
authors.forename: Marci
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drees
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Population Medicine,Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute,Boston,Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.affiliation: 2Division of Infectious Diseases,Department of Medicine,Brigham and Women's Hospital,Boston,Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Deborah S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Yokoe
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006282:Health Personnel; D006761:Hospitals / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States