hospital outbreak
Nosocomial infection spread
A hospital outbreak is a cluster of infections—typically from the same pathogen—occurring among patients, staff, or visitors within a healthcare facility.
These outbreaks are particularly dangerous because hospitals house vulnerable populations and antibiotic-resistant organisms: The hospital outbreak was traced to contaminated surgical equipment.
Investigation usually involves infection control teams tracking the source and transmission pathway.
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- patient zeroFirst documented infection
- contagionDisease spread by contact
- nosocomial infectionDisease caught in hospitals
- quarantineIsolation preventing disease transmission
epidemic · ward · patients · visiting hours · nurses · isolation · spread · contamination · fever · ICU · ventilator · masks · gowns · hazmat suit · bacteria · virus · superbug · MRSA
- health crisespandemic, epidemic, health emergency, public health emergency, AIDS epidemic
hospital outbreakinfection control
Preventing pathogen transmission
disease eradication · sterile environment · infection prevention
hospital, outbreak, hospitals, hospitalize, hospitalized, hospitalization, hospitalizing, hospitable, inhospitable