Chicken pox outbreak in the Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care hospital: Lessons learnt the hard way

Sarit Sharma, Shruti Sharma, Deepinder Chhina, RS ChhinaIndian Journal of Critical Care Medicine 2015 19(12):723-725Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes 2 clinically and epidemiologically distinct forms of diseases. Chickenpox (varicella) is the disease that results from primary infection with the VZV. Herpes zoster (HZ) results from the reactivation of VZV latently infecting the dorsal root ganglia. We are reporting an outbreak of varicella infection among the health care workers (HCWs) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a tertiary care hospital. We found transmission of varicella among eight HCWs of pulmonary ICU. They had a history of contact with a patient having HZ infection. Investigation of the outbreak was conducted as per guidelines. Better dissemination of information on disease transmission, isolation of infected patients inside the hospital, and adequate protection (including vaccination) for susceptible employees are important to prevent such outbreaks.

Source: Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine - December 9, 2015 Category: Intensive Care Authors: Sarit SharmaShruti SharmaDeepinder ChhinaRS Chhina Source Type: research