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A Microbiologic Approach to the Investigation of Bacterial Nosocomial Infection Outbreaks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2016

Donald A. Goldmann  and
Ann B. Macone
Donald A. Goldmann*
Affiliation:
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Ann B. Macone
Affiliation:
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
*
Children's Hospital Medical Center. 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115
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Abstract

This article details the appropriate microbiologic support that is critical to the successful investigation of nosocomial infection problems. The infection control team must have ready access to microbiologic data, and the laboratory should retain epidemiologically relevant bacterial isolates. Investigation of epidemics is facilitated by precise identification of bacteria and careful antibiotic susceptibility testing. In some situations, biotyping, serotyping, phage typing, bacteriocin typing, and other specialized techniques may be required. Plasmid analysis may be useful in the investigation of nosocomial infection problems caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Type
Original-Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 1 , Issue 6 , 11/12 1980 , pp. 391 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1980

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