2021 Volume 36 Issue 3 Pages 172-178
In this study, we report an outbreak of infectious gastroenteritis in a residential care facility for persons with disabilities that housed 40 residents with 42 care staff. On February 6, 2018, four residents and one staff member were diagnosed with infectious gastroenteritis. The outbreak occurred until February 14, involving 27 cases (21 residents and 6 staff members). In the last four days, the care staff was primarily affected (one resident and four staff members). A retrospective survey of care records identified a resident who was hospitalized due to fever, soft stool, and vomiting on February 4. We concluded this resident to be the first case of this outbreak as the staff member caring for this resident later developed an infectious gastroenteritis. However, the care staff were not trained in infection control and did not use personal protective equipment appropriately when treating the resident. The epidemic curve showed one clear peak with a sustained tail, indicating that the infection control measures introduced after notification of the outbreak were effective. The noteworthy points of this outbreak were as follows: (i) insufficient attention was given to the first resident who developed a fever and enteric symptoms, (ii) the care staff who handled the resident's excretions (vomit or stool) developed infectious gastroenteritis, and (iii) the infection was sustained among care staff in the last part of the outbreak. The majority of care staff in small- and middle-sized residential care facilities for persons with disabilities, which are common in Japan, do not have appropriate training in infection control. Therefore, a sustainable education system for infection control should be established in these facilities to prevent future norovirus outbreaks.
