Study and evaluation on the measures of prevention and control in SARS hospital infection

Objective:To study and evaluate the measures of control in SARS hospital infection.Methods:Definite SARS patients （inpatients and medical staffs） were selected from a general hospital between March and June 2003.Individual and environment survey were carried out by a standardized questionnaire of China CDC.Results:There were 30 SARS cases of hospital infection.Epidemiological characteristics:There were two peaks of incidence （Mar 13th-16th and Mar 24th）.Distributions by places were confined to Ward 4，5，6on the 7，8，12，13 and 14 floors in west unit of the inpatient building.Among the SARS cases，the inpatients were older and most had severe original diseases，and the medical staffs were younger juniors.Source of transmission:Index patients were the first generation source of transmission and the secondary attacked inpatients and medical staffs were the second generation.Route of transmission:The major transmission routes were near space droplet infection and close contact infection.There was a probability of aerosol or droplet nuclei transmission through the ventilation system.Conclusions:Hospital infection was the main epidemic form of SARS in the early stage.Many measures such as control and isolation of the source of transmission，setup of the fever clinic and medical observation area，isolation and medical observation of suspected cases，enforcing ventilation and disinfection of the ward area，stopping fresh-air system，forbidding outside visiting，strengthen prevention of medical staffs were carried out and the SARS hospital infection could be prevented and controlled.