An outbreak of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis in a nursing home. Demonstration of person-to-person transmission by temporal clustering of cases. 1982

J E Kaplan, and L B Schonberger, and G Varano, and N Jackman, and J Bied, and G W Gary

An outbreak of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis occurred among residents and staff in a nursing home in Baltimore, Maryland, in December 1980. A total of 101 residents and 69 staff members were surveyed by questionnaire. The attack rate (defined as acute onset of vomiting or two or more loose stools per 24 hours) was 46% in each group. Illness was brief and mild; no patients were hospitalized, and there were no deaths. Person-to-person transmission was documented by temporal clustering of cases (the demonstration of higher rate of illness among residents exposed to an ill roommate one or two days earlier than among those not similarly exposed; relative risk = 3.74), by a higher rate of illness among employees having daily contact with residents than among those without such contact (57% vs. 17%, p less than 0.01), and by secondary transmission to household contacts of ill employees (secondary attack rate = 33%). Three of 11 serum pairs from patients demonstrated a fourfold increase in antibody titer to the Norwalk virus between acute- and convalescent-phase specimens. The analysis of temporal clustering of cases was particularly useful in documenting person-to-person transmission in this outbreak and might be used for this purpose in other outbreaks caused by Norwalk or Norwalk-like viruses, as well as in outbreaks associated with other infectious organisms.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008396 Maryland A state bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Virginia and West Virginia, and on the west by West Virginia.
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D009663 Norwalk virus The type species in the genus NOROVIRUS, first isolated in 1968 from the stools of school children in Norwalk, Ohio, who were suffering from GASTROENTERITIS. The virions are non-enveloped spherical particles containing a single protein. Multiple strains are named after the places where outbreaks have occurred. Norwalk Agent
D009735 Nursing Homes Facilities which provide nursing supervision and limited medical care to persons who do not require hospitalization. Homes, Nursing,Nursing Home
D004196 Disease Outbreaks Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS. Outbreaks,Infectious Disease Outbreaks,Disease Outbreak,Disease Outbreak, Infectious,Disease Outbreaks, Infectious,Infectious Disease Outbreak,Outbreak, Disease,Outbreak, Infectious Disease,Outbreaks, Disease,Outbreaks, Infectious Disease
D005759 Gastroenteritis INFLAMMATION of any segment of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT from ESOPHAGUS to RECTUM. Causes of gastroenteritis are many including genetic, infection, HYPERSENSITIVITY, drug effects, and CANCER. Gastroenteritides
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly

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