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Patient notification about suspected hospital-associated outbreaks of invasive mold infections: Considerations for public health and hospital personnel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2021

Pooja Gandhi Open the ORCID record for Pooja Gandhi [Opens in a new window] ,
Kaitlin Benedict ,
Mitsuru Toda ,
Karlyn D. Beer ,
Tom M. Chiller  and
Brendan R. Jackson
Pooja Gandhi
Affiliation:
Applied Sciences, Research and Technology, Inc., Smyrna, Georgia
Kaitlin Benedict
Affiliation:
Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Mitsuru Toda
Affiliation:
Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Karlyn D. Beer
Affiliation:
Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Tom M. Chiller
Affiliation:
Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Brendan R. Jackson*
Affiliation:
Mycotic Diseases Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Author for correspondence: Brendan R. Jackson, E-mail: brjackson1@cdc.gov
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Abstract

A common type of fungal disease investigation involves hospital-associated clusters of invasive mold infections (IMIs), which typically occur among immunocompromised patients. Responding to IMI clusters can be challenging for public health and hospital personnel for several reasons such as difficulty of confirming the existence of an outbreak, difficulty of determining source. Although many resources exist to guide patient notification about healthcare incidents (eg, bloodborne exposures, disease outbreaks), IMI clusters involve special considerations related to the complex diseases, uncertain exposures, and differential benefits and risks of notification. Early, nuanced communication about hospital-associated IMI clusters is almost always the best course of action to help reduce risks to patients’ health and foster trust between patients and hospitals.

Type
Commentary
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 42 , Issue 7 , July 2021 , pp. 871 - 876
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

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