A nosocomial outbreak of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) in a paediatric oncology ward in Italy, October – November 2009

M Chironna; S Tafuri; N Santoro; R Prato; M Quarto; C A Germinario

doi:10.2807/ese.15.01.19454-en

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A nosocomial outbreak of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) in a paediatric oncology ward in Italy, October – November 2009
M Chironna¹ , S Tafuri¹ , N Santoro² , R Prato³ , M Quarto¹ , C A Germinario¹
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Affiliations: ¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Hygiene Section, University of Bari, Apulia Regional Epidemiological Observatory, Bari, Italy ² Paediatric Unit F.Vecchio, Policlinico General Hospital, Bari, Italy ³ Department of Medical Sciences, Hygiene Section, University of Foggia, Apulia Regional Epidemiological Observatory, Foggia, Italy

Correspondence:
C Germinario
c.germinario igiene.uniba.it
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Citation style for this article: Chironna M, Tafuri S, Santoro N, Prato R, Quarto M, Germinario C A. A nosocomial outbreak of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) in a paediatric oncology ward in Italy, October – November 2009. Euro Surveill. 2010;15(1):pii=19454. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.15.01.19454-en Received: 04 Dec 2009

Abstract

A nosocomial outbreak of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1), with eight confirmed cases, occurred in a paediatric oncology ward in Italy, in October/November 2009. The fact that one case was infected despite being isolated and without contact to a symptomatic patient, hints towards potential transmission through a health care worker (HCW) and underlines the importance of vaccination of HCW who are involved in the care of critically ill patients.