Adenovirus pseudo-outbreak associated with bronchoscopy

Area of Science:

• Clinical Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• Community-acquired respiratory viruses are a concern in healthcare settings.
• Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a key diagnostic tool.
• Intensive care units (ICUs) are vulnerable to respiratory pathogen transmission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate an apparent increase in adenovirus cases.
• To differentiate between true outbreaks and laboratory-associated events.
• To assess the impact of diagnostic methods on outbreak detection.

Main Methods:

• Regular application of multiplex PCR for respiratory viruses on bronchoalveolar specimens.
• Retrospective analysis of patient data and laboratory results.
• Epidemiological investigation to identify the source of adenovirus detection.

Main Results:

• Adenovirus was identified in multiple patients within a surgical ICU.
• The detection occurred over a specific period, suggesting a potential outbreak.
• Further investigation revealed the findings were attributed to a pseudo-outbreak.

Conclusions:

• Diagnostic methods like multiplex PCR can detect pathogens but require careful interpretation.
• Pseudo-outbreaks can occur due to various factors, including laboratory processes.
• Distinguishing true outbreaks from pseudo-outbreaks is crucial for appropriate infection control measures.