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Published on: February 9, 2011
Infections in day care
1Public Health Unit, Eastern Sydney Area Health Service, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.
Insights
Preschool children in daycare experience more illnesses due to close contact and hygiene factors. This increases risks for children, daycare staff, and community-wide infection spread.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health
Background:
- Daycare attendance for preschoolers has surged.
- Factors like crowding and hygiene facilitate rapid infection spread in childcare settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the increased risk of infections in children attending daycare.
- To assess the risks for daycare staff and the broader community.
Main Methods:
- Observational analysis of illness patterns in daycare attendees versus non-attendees.
- Review of specific infection risks associated with daycare settings.
Main Results:
- Daycare attendees have higher rates of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.
- Increased risk for specific infections like Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis A.
- Daycare staff face elevated risks for infections, including those with fetal implications (e.g., cytomegalovirus, parvovirus B19).
Conclusions:
- Daycare attendance significantly elevates infection risks for children.
- Staff and family members are also at increased risk.
- Daycare settings can amplify community-wide infection transmission.
Abstract:
The number of preschool-aged children who attend day care has increased dramatically in recent years. Factors promoting spread of infections in this setting include crowding, lack of hygiene, high prevalence of early exploratory behaviors, and the likelihood of many susceptible children being in close contact. As a result, children attending day care experience a great number of episodes of respiratory and gastrointestinal illness than do other children. Moreover, the risk of a number of specific infections, including Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis A, is increased by attendance in day care. Day-care staff are at increased risk of a number of infections, some of which, including cytomegalovirus and parvovirus B19, may have adverse consequences to a fetus. The presence of children in day care increases the risk of illness among staff and family members and may promote the circulation of infections in the community as a whole.
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