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[Control of imported infections in nursing homes]
Bjørg Marit Andersen1, Mette Rasch
1Avdeling for sykdomsforebygging hos risikogrupper, Klinikk for forebyggende medisin, Medisinsk divisjon, Ullevål universitetssykehus 0407 Oslo. bjorgmarit.andersen@ulleval.no
Background:
Nursing home residents and accompanying staff often go on stays i Norwegian-owned health institutions in southern Europe and may bring infections back with them.
Material And Methods:
We studied infection control routines for residents and staff returning home from health institutions abroad as well as isolation capacity by an anonymous questionnaire to 59 nursing homes with a total of 4,409 residents.
Results:
21 nursing homes (36%) sent their residents and staff members to health institutions abroad. Testing for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was performed upon return by 4 out of 21 nursing homes for residents and 3 out of 21 for staff members. 22% of the 59 nursing homes had routines for infection screening of staff members working abroad. 14% would perform MRSA tests on all staff members giving such information. The nursing homes had a total of 4,409 beds, 66% of them in single rooms. There were a total of eight (0.2%) contact infection isolates but no isolate for airborne infections.
Interpretation:
Resistant bacteria may be imported and spread through lack of infection controls of residents and staff members returning home from health care institutions abroad. The lack of isolation facilities make matters worse.