Linking healthcare associated norovirus outbreaks: a molecular epidemiologic method for investigating transmission.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Noroviruses are highly infectious pathogens that cause gastroenteritis in the community and in semi-closed institutions such as hospitals. During outbreaks, multiple units within a hospital are often affected, and a major question for control programs is: are the affected units part of the same outbreak or are they unrelated transmission events? In practice, investigators often assume a transmission link based on epidemiological observations, rather than a systematic approach to tracing transmission.Here, we present a combined molecular and statistical method for assessing:1) whether observed clusters provide evidence of local transmission and2) the probability that anecdotally|linked outbreaks truly shared a transmission event.

Methods

76 healthcare associated ou

SUBMITTER: Lopman BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1539008 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature