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C. perfringens outbreak kills 3 in Louisiana psychiatric hospital
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A state psychiatric hospital in Louisiana experienced an outbreak of Clostridium perfringens that led to the death of three patients, according to a report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The outbreak occurred in May, 2010 and affected 42 residents and 12 staff members, who experienced vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. The three patients died within 24 hours. They were aged 41 to 61 years and were receiving medications that that had anti-intestinal motility side effects. One of the patients was found to have necrotizing colitis after postmorterm examination.
The Louisiana Office of Public Health and the CDC investigated the incident and found that chicken served the previous night was responsible for the outbreak. The chicken had been cooked 24 hours before serving and was not cooled in accordance with hospital guidelines.
C. perfringens enterotoxin was identified in 20 of 23 stool specimens of the ill residents and staff members. Genetic testing showed that C. perfringens type A was the strain responsible for the outbreak.
“This outbreak underscores the need for strict food preparation guidelines at psychiatric inpatient facilities and the potential for adverse outcomes among patients with impaired intestinal motility caused by medications, disease and extremes of age when exposed to C. perfringens enterotoxin,” the researchers wrote.
References:
CDC. MMWR. 2012;61:605-608.
Disclosures:
The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.