An Outbreak of Serratia marcescens Infections Related to Contaminated Chlorhexidine

Patrice Vigeant, Vivian G. Loo, Céline Bertrand, Catherine Dixon, Richard Hollis, Michael A. Pfaller, A. Peter H. McLean, Dalius J. Briedis, Trish M. Perl, Hugh G. Robson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

57 Scopus citations

Abstract

An outbreak of Serratia marcescens infections occurred in a university tertiary-care hospital. Alcohol-free chlorhexidine solutions were contaminated with S marcescens. The majority of patient and chlorhexidine strains had similar pulsed field-gel electrophoresis banding patterns. Chlorhexidine was recalled, and the rate of S marcescens isolation returned to baseline. Chlorhexidine without alcohol should not be used as an antiseptic.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)791-794
Number of pages4
JournalInfection control and hospital epidemiology
Volume19
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1998

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An Outbreak of Serratia marcescens Infections Related to Contaminated Chlorhexidine'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this