Cluster of deaths from group A streptococcus in a long-term care facility--Georgia, 2001

Invasive group A streptococcus (GAS) affects approximately 10,500 persons annually; 1 in 5 patients >/=65 years die. In August 2001, CDC investigated a cluster of GAS deaths in a Georgia long-term care facility (LTCF).

We screened LTCF residents and staff for GAS carriage and conducted a retrospective cohort study among residents. We defined a case as GAS isolation associated with clinical infection.

Eight cases were identified (median age: 79 years); 6 (75%) patients died. Carriage was similar in residents (10%) and staff (9%). All isolates among residents and 63% among staff were type emm 77. Risk factors for GAS disease or carriage among residents were receiving skin treatment (relative risk [RR] = 4.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.9-11.0) and having an infected or colonized roommate (RR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.10-5.0). No wound care nurse carried GAS. Interventions included education about standardized infection control guidelines and appropriate hand hygiene; carriers were treated with antibiotics. No subsequent GAS cases were identified in the following year.

Transmission of GAS in this outbreak likely occurred during wound care and ended with improved hand hygiene. This investigation highlights additional research and policy needs for control of severe GAS infections among the high-risk LTCF population.