Outbreak Column 7: Pseudo-outbreaks (part 1)

Anon. (1995) Enhanced detection of sporadic Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections—New Jersey, July 1994. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 44(22): 417–8.

Calfee DP Brooks J Zirk NM Giannetta ET Scheld WM Farr BM . (2003) A pseudo-outbreak of nosocomial infections associated with the introduction of an antibiotic management programme. Journal of Hospital Infection 55(1): 26–32.

Carr R Warren R Towers L Bartholomew A Duggal HV Rehman Y Harrison TG Olowokure B . (2010) Investigating a cluster of Legionnaires’ cases: public health implications. Public Health 124(6): 326–31.

Diederen BM Verhulst C van’t Veen A van Keulen PH Kluytmans JA . (2006) Pseudo-outbreak of hepatitis B virus infection associated with contamination of a semiautomatic cap remover. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 27(11): 1258–60.

Faden H Ramani R Lamson D St GK . (2010) Pseudo-outbreak of adenovirus infection in a neonatal intensive care unit due to a false-positive antigen detection test. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 48(11): 4251–2.

Fischhoff B . (2003) Hindsight not equal to foresight: the effect of outcome knowledge on judgment under uncertainty. 1975. Quality and Safety in Health Care 12(4): 304–11.

Ford AL Williams JA Spencer M McCammon C Khoury N Sampson TR Panagos P Lee JM . (2012) Reducing door-to-needle times using Toyota’s lean manufacturing principles and value stream analysis. Stroke 43(12): 3395–8.

Health Protection Scotland (2012) HPS Hospital Outbreak Algorithm/Checklist. Health Protection Scotland 25 July 2012.

Heard S Lawrence S Holmes B Costas M . (1990) A pseudo-outbreak of Pseudomonas on a special care baby unit. Journal of Hospital Infection 16(1): 59–65.

Horan TC Andrus M Dudeck MA . (2008) CDC/NHSN surveillance definition of health care-associated infection and criteria for specific types of infections in the acute care setting. Americal Journal of Infection Control 36(5): 309–32.

Kappstein I Krause G Hauer T Jonas D . (1998) Pseudo-outbreak of candidaemia with Candida parapsilosis. Journal of Hospital Infection 40(2): 164–5.

Lalande V Barbut F Varnerot A Febvre M Nesa D Wadel S Vincent V Petit JC . (2001) Pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium gordonae associated with water from refrigerated fountains. Journal of Hospital Infection 48(1): 76–9.

Mor V Angelelli J Jones R Roy J Moore T Morris J . (2003) Inter-rater reliability of nursing home quality indicators in the U.S. BMC Health Services Research 3(1): 20.

Neal TJ Corkill JE Bennett KJ Yoxall CW . (1999) Serratia marcescens pseudobacteraemia in neonates associated with a contaminated blood glucose/lactate analyzer confirmed by molecular typing. Journal of Hospital Infection 41(3): 219–22.

Neulier C Breton N Pangon B Le MA Henry-Lagarrigue M Dujon C Merrer J . (2011) Pseudo-outbreak of pseudomonas putida respiratory infection caused by laboratory contamination. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 32(5): 523–5.

Rothfeld AF Stickley A . (2010) A program to limit urinary catheter use at an acute care hospital. Americal Journal of Infection Control 38(7): 568–71.

Serikawa T Kobayashi S Tamura T Uchiyama M Tsukada H Takakuwa K Tanaka K Ito M . (2010) Pseudo outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia in vaginal cultures and intervention by hospital infection control team. Journal of Hospital Infection 75(3): 242–3.

Tschudin SS Halter J Frei R Widmer AF . (2011) Pseudo-outbreak of Pseudomonas mendocina in stem cell cultures. Journal of Hospital Infection 77(1): 70–2.

Verweij PE Voss A Donnelly JP de Pauw BE Meis JF . (1997) Wooden sticks as the source of a pseudoepidemic of infection with Rhizopus microsporus var. rhizopodiformis among immunocompromised patients. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 35(9): 2422–3.

Wang SH Pancholi P Stevenson K Yakrus MA Butler WR Schlesinger LS Mangino JE . (2009) Pseudo-outbreak of “Mycobacterium paraffinicum” infection and/or colonization in a tertiary care medical center. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 30(9): 848–53.

Weinstein RA Stamm WE . (1977) Pseudoepidemics in hospital. Lancet 2(8043): 862–4.

Zhang Q Kennon R Koza MA Hulten K Clarridge JE . (2002) Pseudoepidemic due to a unique strain of Mycobacterium szulgai: genotypic, phenotypic, and epidemiological analysis. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 40(4): 1134–9.