How often do asymptomatic healthcare workers cause methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreaks? A systematic evaluation. |
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| Authors: | Ralf-Peter Vonberg Sabine Stamm-Balderjahn Sonja Hansen Irina Zuschneid Henning Ruden Michael Behnke Petra Gastmeier |
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| Affiliation: | Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology, Medical School Hannover, Hannover, Germany. Vonberg.Ralf@MH-Hannover.DE |
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| Abstract: | A systematic search was performed to identify outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection and colonization caused by healthcare workers (HCWs). Of 191 outbreaks identified, 11 had strong epidemiological evidence that HCWs were the source. In 3 of these outbreaks, asymptomatic carriers were the cause. The frequent practice of screening asymptomatic HCWs should be reconsidered. |
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