TY  - BOOK
AU  - Hosein, IK.
AU  - Hoffman, PN.
AU  - Ellam, S.
AU  - Asseez, TM.
AU  - Fakokunde, A.
AU  - Silles, J.
AU  - Devereux, E.
AU  - Kaur, D.
AU  - Bosanquet, J.
TI  - Summertime Bacillus cereus colonization of hospital newborns traced to contaminated, laundered linen
SN  - 01956701
PY  - 2013///
N1  - NMUH Staff Publications; 85
N2  - &lt;h4&gt;BACKGROUND: &lt;/h4&gt;&lt;p&gt;Routine screening of premature newborns for haemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus and enteric Gram-negative bacteria done at birth using umbilical swabs identified clustering of babies colonized with Bacillus cereus in summers of 2009 and 2010 at a 400-bedded UK general hospital.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h4&gt;AIM: &lt;/h4&gt;&lt;p&gt;To determine the source of this organism by focusing on the clinical environment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h4&gt;METHODS: &lt;/h4&gt;&lt;p&gt;Umbilical swab screening was extended to all newborns and the labour ward environment, including construction-related dust, was sampled for B.&amp;nbsp;cereus.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h4&gt;FINDINGS: &lt;/h4&gt;&lt;p&gt;During the summer of 2009, 65% of newborns had umbilical swabs which were culture positive for B.&amp;nbsp;cereus. Blood agar and B.&amp;nbsp;cereus selective agar impression plates of unused labour ward linen, and freshly received linen from the hospital's external laundry, gave mainly confluent growth of B.&amp;nbsp;cereus in &amp;gt;85% of items sampled. In-use and exposed healthcare products including liquid handwashing agents, paper hand-towels, vaginal lubricants, labour ward dust and air were culture negative. Linen contamination and umbilical swab culture positivity both approached zero in autumn. B.&amp;nbsp;cereus colonization of newborn umbilici recurred in summer 2010 and unused laundered linen was again found to be as contaminated. Washing linen at the laundry in a washer-extractor, with higher dilution than the continuous tunnel washer normally used, coincided with lowering of detectable B.&amp;nbsp;cereus numbers in unused washed linen and no clustering in newborns the following summer (2011).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h4&gt;CONCLUSION: &lt;/h4&gt;&lt;p&gt;Freshly laundered linen can be contaminated with B.&amp;nbsp;cereus with subsequent spread and colonization of newborns. This contamination appears to be associated with low-dilution washing and high ambient temperatures.&lt;/p&gt
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23927924?dopt=Abstract
UR  - http://ferriman.wufoo.com/forms/r7x3a7/
ER  -