ICU outbreak linked to lack of hand washing

Failure to follow hand washing guidelines was the cause of an outbreak of yeast infection in the intensive care nursery of a New Hampshire hospital, the New England Journal of Medicine reports in a study published March 12.

The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the outbreak was likely caused by a nurse who failed to wash her hands properly after handling her infected dog at home. The outbreak infected at least 24 babies at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, over a 15-month period beginning October 1993.

Tests of nurses in the ICU found only one with positive results for the yeast, but it seems likely that one or more of the nurses were carriers of the infection, researchers say. The problem disappeared after workers were re-educated in proper hand washing techniques. "Careful hand washing by health care workers on reporting to work and before and after all contacts with patients is essential" to avoid the spread of pet-related infections, the study concludes.