Begam Nazneen N, Mondal Saikat, Afroz Eram, Das Arghya, Biswas Ashutosh, Wig Naveet
Infectious Diseases, AIl India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, IND.
Internal Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani, IND.
Cureus. 2023 Jul 12;15(7):e41795. doi: 10.7759/cureus.41795. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Background Periodic outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in hospital settings amidst the recent pandemic are well known. However, the timely control of such outbreaks was key to preventing morbidity among vulnerable patients as well as reducing sickness absenteeism among healthcare workers. This is the first study of its kind in India. Methods An outbreak investigation was conducted between June 12 and July 18, 2020, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, during the first wave of COVID-19. Results A total of 27 individuals were infected during this time, including people visiting the hospital and healthcare workers. A thorough investigation led us to the epidemiological link between cases and allowed us to bring reforms to the existing hospital policy of screening and admission of COVID-19 patients and those suspected to have the infection. This experience helped us avoid future outbreaks during the second wave of COVID-19 in our hospital. Conclusion The SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly transmissible, especially in hospital settings due to the high burden of patients and close proximity between patients. Timely intervention is the key to effective control of hospital outbreaks, as it can avoid morbidity in patients and reduce sickness absenteeism among healthcare workers.
背景 在最近的大流行期间，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）在医院环境中周期性爆发是众所周知的。然而，及时控制此类爆发是预防脆弱患者发病以及减少医护人员病假的关键。这是印度首次此类研究。方法 2020年6月12日至7月18日，在印度新德里全印度医学科学研究所，于新冠疫情第一波期间进行了一次疫情调查。结果 在此期间共有27人感染，包括来医院就诊的人员和医护人员。深入调查让我们找到了病例之间的流行病学关联，并使我们能够对新冠患者及疑似感染者的现有医院筛查和收治政策进行改革。这一经验帮助我们在医院第二波新冠疫情期间避免了未来的爆发。结论 SARS-CoV-2病毒具有高度传染性，尤其是在医院环境中，因为患者负担重且患者之间距离近。及时干预是有效控制医院爆发的关键，因为它可以避免患者发病并减少医护人员的病假。
