| Title | Nosocomial Respiratory Infections in a Rural Zambian Hospital. | ||
| Author | Loevinsohn, Gideon; Hardick, Justin; Mehoke, Thomas; Sinywimaanzi, Pamela; Hamahuwa, Mutinta; Fenstermacher, Katherine Z J; Shaw-Saliba, Kathryn; Thielen, Peter; Evans, Jared; Bowden, Kenneth; Zudock, Kristina; Sauer, Lauren M; Monze, Mwaka; Gaydos, Charlotte A; Rothman, Richard E; Pekosz, Andrew; Thuma, Philip E; Sutcliffe, Catherine G | ||
| Journal | Am J Trop Med Hyg | Publication Year/Month | 2021-Jul |
| PMID | 34280144 | PMCID | PMC8592331 |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.1Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. | ||
The burden of nosocomial respiratory infections in rural southern Africa is poorly understood. We established a surveillance program at a rural Zambian hospital to detect influenza-like illness (ILI) and respiratory infections among hospitalized patients and a cohort of healthcare workers (HCWs). Nasopharyngeal specimens from symptomatic patients and HCWs underwent broadly multiplexed molecular testing to detect viruses and atypical bacteria. During 1 year of surveillance, 15 patients (1.7% of admissions) developed ILI more than 48 hours after admission. Among 44 HCWs, 19 (43%) experienced at least one ILI episode, with a total of 31 ILI episodes detected. Respiratory viruses were detected in 45% of patient and 55% of HCW specimens. The cumulative incidence of influenza infection among HCWs over 1 year was 9%. Overall, respiratory viruses were commonly found among patients and HCWs in a rural Zambian hospital with limited infection control infrastructure.