Molecular epidemiology of an outbreak of Enterobacter cloacae in the neonatal intensive care unit of a provincial hospital in Gauteng, South Africa

W H van Nierop; A G Duse; R G Stewart; Y R Bilgeri; H J Koornhof

doi:10.1128/JCM.36.10.3085-3087.1998

Molecular epidemiology of an outbreak of Enterobacter cloacae in the neonatal intensive care unit of a provincial hospital in Gauteng, South Africa

J Clin Microbiol. 1998 Oct;36(10):3085-7. doi: 10.1128/JCM.36.10.3085-3087.1998.

Authors

W H van Nierop¹, A G Duse, R G Stewart, Y R Bilgeri, H J Koornhof

Affiliation

¹ Division of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg, South Africa. 174wim@chiron.wits.ac.za

Abstract

An outbreak of Enterobacter cloacae in the neonatal intensive care unit of a provincial hospital in Gauteng, South Africa, resulting in nine deaths was investigated. Macrorestriction analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed that three isolates of E. cloacae from blood cultures of patients, six from environmental sources, and one from the hands of a staff member belonged to the same genotypic cluster.

MeSH terms

Cross Infection / epidemiology*
Cross Infection / microbiology
Cross Infection / mortality
Disease Outbreaks / statistics & numerical data*
Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
Enterobacter cloacae* / genetics
Enterobacter cloacae* / isolation & purification
Enterobacteriaceae Infections / epidemiology*
Enterobacteriaceae Infections / mortality
Enterobacteriaceae Infections / transmission
Hospitals, District
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal*
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Molecular Epidemiology
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
South Africa / epidemiology