A Regional Outbreak of Clostridium difficile PCR-Ribotype 027 Infections in Southeastern France from a Single Long-Term Care Facility

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2016 Nov;37(11):1337-1341. doi: 10.1017/ice.2016.164. Epub 2016 Aug 3.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To describe and analyze a large outbreak of Clostridium difficile 027 (CD-027) infections. METHODS Confirmed CD-027 cases were defined as CD infection plus real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) positive for CD-027. Clinical and microbiological data on patients with CD-027 infection were collected from January 2013 to December 2015 in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region (southeastern France). RESULTS In total, 19 healthcare facilities reported 144 CD-027 infections (112 confirmed and 32 probable CD-027 infections) during a 22-month period outbreak. Although the incidence rate per 10,000 bed days was lower in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) than in acute care facilities (0.05 vs 0.14; P<.001), cases occurred mainly in LTCFs, one of which was the probable source of this outbreak. After centralization of CD testing, the rate of confirmed CD-027 cases from LTCFs or residential-care homes increased significantly (69% vs 92%; P<.001). Regarding confirmed CD-027 patients, the sex ratio and the median age were 0.53 and 84.2 years, respectively. The 30-day crude mortality rate was 31%. Most patients (96%) had received antibiotics within 3 months prior to the CD colitis diagnosis. During the study period, the rate of patients with CD-027 (compared with all patients tested in the point-of-care laboratories) decreased significantly (P=.03). CONCLUSIONS A large CD-027 outbreak occurred in southeastern France as a consequence of an initial cluster of cases in a single LTCF. Successful interventions included rapid isolation and testing of residents with potentially infectious diarrhea and cohorting of case patients in a specialized infectious diseases ward to optimize management. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1-5.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Clostridioides difficile / genetics
  • Clostridioides difficile / isolation & purification
  • Clostridium Infections / diagnosis
  • Clostridium Infections / epidemiology*
  • Clostridium Infections / prevention & control
  • Cross Infection / epidemiology*
  • Cross Infection / microbiology*
  • Cross Infection / prevention & control
  • Diarrhea / epidemiology*
  • Diarrhea / microbiology*
  • Diarrhea / prevention & control
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Female
  • France / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Infection Control / methods
  • Long-Term Care
  • Male
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Risk Factors
  • Spatio-Temporal Analysis
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents