We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Epidemiology of gastroenteritis outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes, 2007-2010.
- Authors
Bromley, Kathryn L.; Sargeant, Jan; Jones-Bitton, Andria; Egan, Cathy
- Abstract
Introduction More than 76,000 persons resided in 625 Ontario long-term care homes as of April 2010. Gastroenteritis has been reported as an important cause of morbidity for institutionalized populations. The objective of this study was to describe gastroenteritis outbreaks (non-foodborne, non-waterborne) reported in Ontario long-term care homes from 2007 through April 2010. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long- Term Care provided gastroenteritis outbreak data and the long-term care home bed count data for the period of January 1, 2007 to April 31, 2010. Results There were 1402 non-foodborne and non-waterborne gastroenteritis outbreaks reported by 549 Ontario long-term care homes between January 1, 2007 and April 31, 2010. The annual incidence rate of gastroenteritis outbreaks ranged from 49.6 to 66.3 outbreaks per 100 long-term care homes affecting 0.27 to 1.10 residents per 1000 bed-days. The outbreak aetiologic agents included norovirus (n = 610; 43.5%), rotavirus (n = 27; 1.9%), calicivirus (n = 4; 0.3%), and unknown agent (n = 761; 54.3%). The median attack rate for residents and staff was 18.0% and 8.6%, respectively. The median outbreak duration was 12 days, and varied by aetiologic agent. Conclusions Gastroenteritis outbreaks were common in Ontario long-term care homes from 2007 to 2010. The incidence of resident cases per 1000 bed-days suggests that gastroenteritis outbreaks were a significant cause of morbidity and burden of illness. Long-term care homes need more effective infection prevention and control programs to reduce morbidity. Improved identification of the aetiologic agent and mode of transmission would facilitate decision-making about outbreak control measures and surveillance for outbreak-related aetiologic agents.
- Subjects
ONTARIO; CHI-squared test; PREVENTION of communicable diseases; DISEASE outbreaks; GASTROENTERITIS; LONGITUDINAL method; NURSING care facilities; STATISTICS; U-statistics; ROTAVIRUSES; DISEASE incidence; RETROSPECTIVE studies; DATA analysis software; NOROVIRUS diseases; DESCRIPTIVE statistics
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Infection Control / Revue Canadienne de Prévention des Infections, 2014, Vol 29, Issue 1, p9
- ISSN
1183-5702
- Publication type
Article