title: Contacts between health care workers and patients in a short-stay geriatric unit during the peak of a seasonal influenza epidemic compared with a nonepidemic period.
abstract: Patterns of contacts between health care workers and patients during seasonal epidemics are unknown. Our study objective was to compare the number and duration of contacts between health care workers and patients during a nonepidemic period versus a community influenza epidemic, and to identify supercontactors.
  
  
  
  Our observational study was conducted in a short-stay geriatric unit of a university hospital. Contacts between individuals were recorded by active radio frequency identification devices. Contact patterns were compared between 2 periods according to contact number and duration. Each care period lasted 5 days in the nonepidemic and influenza epidemic periods.
  
  
  
  The study included 21 medical doctors, 43 nurses, and 56 patients. In total, 3,200 contacts (61.4%; 152,700 seconds) were recorded during the nonepidemic period, with 2,013 contacts (38.6%; 92,740 seconds) in the epidemic period (P = .007). More cumulative contacts occurred during the nonepidemic period between nurses and patients (n = 2,638 [82%] vs n = 1,599 [79%]), but not between patients (n = 56 [18%] vs n = 414 [21%]). Contact duration between nurses and patients lasted longer during the nonepidemic period (P = .04). During the epidemic period, 6 nurses (15%) considered to be supercontactors accounted for 44.3% of the total number of contacts with patients.
  
  
  
  The pattern of contacts between individuals differed according to the presence or not of the community influenza peak that might have influenced the risk of nosocomial influenza.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hygiène, Epidémiologie et Prévention, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oussaid
authors.affiliation: Service de Biostatistique, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Voirin
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Pathogènes Emergents-Fondation Mérieux, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Régis
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hygiène, Epidémiologie et Prévention, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Nagham
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khanafer
authors.affiliation: Service de Gériatrie, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Géraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martin-Gaujard
authors.affiliation: Service de Gériatrie, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Adélaïde
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.affiliation: Service de Gériatrie, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Comte
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hygiène, Epidémiologie et Prévention, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France; Laboratoire des Pathogènes Emergents-Fondation Mérieux, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bénet
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hygiène, Epidémiologie et Prévention, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France; Laboratoire des Pathogènes Emergents-Fondation Mérieux, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France. Electronic address: philippe.vanhems@chu-lyon.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vanhems
mesh_terms: D000067289:Behavior Observation Techniques; D003428:Cross Infection; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D058872:Epidemics; D006282:Health Personnel; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D010361:Patients
keywords: Contact networks; Elderly; Nosocomial influenza; Radio frequency identification device; Surveillance