An Outbreak of Serratia marcescens, and Its Control

Cabrera, Hugo Álvarez-Argüelles

doi:10.1001/archinte.1969.00300160040007

Cited by 61 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Notwithstanding these difficulties, it is certainly possible to gain a reasonably accurate idea of what is happening elsewhere, and the veritable spate of publications from the USA in recent years naming Serratia marcescens as a pathogen (Atlas and Belding, 1968;Dodson, 1968;Nelms et al, 1968;Ringrose et al, 1968;Allen and Conger, 1969;Alexander etal, 1969;Altemeier et al, 1969;Cabrera, 1969;Quintiliani and Gifford, 1969) would certainly indicate that the organism is a fairly common cause of disease in that country. Our own impression, however, which incidentally was shared by all of the British bacteriologists with whom we had discussed this topic, was that Serratia marcescens is an uncommon, if not rare, clinically significant isolate in the bacteriology laboratory in this country.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hodgson

1971

J Clin Pathol

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During a four-month period an intensive effort was made to isolate and identify everySerratia marcescensstrain present in the clinical material received for bacteriological assessment in the laboratory. Ten strains were isolated from eight patients, the organism possibly being responsible for infection in five of these patients.Serratia marcescensis thus commoner than expected and it is difficult to explain the fact that there are so few references to it as a pathogen in the British literature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hodgson

1971

J Clin Pathol

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“…Rigorous environmental testing was performed in the hospital, and S. marcescens was recovered from several intermittent positive-pressure breathing machines, from vials of saline used to prepare injectable medications, and from jugs of saline used to irrigate catheters and wounds. Serologic typ- ing was performed at the CDC for some of the patient and environmental isolates, and they were found to be of the same type (58). Since the late 1960s, a tremendous number of nosocomial outbreaks attributed to S. marcescens have been described for adult patients; Farmer and others noted that by 1977, more than 100 outbreaks due to S. marcescens had been described (129).…”

Section: S Marcescensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serratia Infections: from Military Experiments to Current Practice

2011

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SUMMARY Serratia species, in particular Serratia marcescens , are significant human pathogens. S. marcescens has a long and interesting taxonomic, medical experimentation, military experimentation, and human clinical infection history. The organisms in this genus, particularly S. marcescens , were long thought to be nonpathogenic. Because S. marcescens was thought to be a nonpathogen and is usually red pigmented, the U.S. military conducted experiments that attempted to ascertain the spread of this organism released over large areas. In the process, members of both the public and the military were exposed to S. marcescens , and this was uncovered by the press in the 1970s, leading to U.S. congressional hearings. S. marcescens was found to be a certain human pathogen by the mid-1960s. S. marcescens and S. liquefaciens have been isolated as causative agents of numerous outbreaks and opportunistic infections, and the association of these organisms with point sources such as medical devices and various solutions given to hospitalized patients is striking. Serratia species appear to be common environmental organisms, and this helps to explain the large number of nosocomial infections due to these bacteria. Since many nosocomial infections are caused by multiply antibiotic-resistant strains of S. marcescens , this increases the danger to hospitalized patients, and hospital personnel should be vigilant in preventing nosocomial outbreaks due to this organism. S. marcescens , and probably other species in the genus, carries several antibiotic resistance determinants and is also capable of acquiring resistance genes. S. marcescens and S. liquefaciens are usually identified well in the clinical laboratory, but the other species are rare enough that laboratory technologists may not recognize them. 16S rRNA gene sequencing may enable better identification of some of the less common Serratia species.

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“…In 1962, Ewing, Johnson & Davis reported that most serratia infections originated in hospital; later papers described the characteristics of serratia infection in the urinary tract (Taylor & Keane, 1962;Lancaster, 1962;Clayton & Von Graevenitz, 1966;Allen & Conger, 1969), in the respiratory tract (Cabrera, 1969) and at several different sites (McCracken & Lipscomb, 1965;Stenderup, Faergeman & Ingerslev, 1966;Stamm et al 1976; 3-2 Mutton, Brady & Markness, 1981;Anagnostakis et al 1981). Interest in such organisms stimulated several studies on their antigenic composition and on the possibilities of serological, biochemical and bacteriocin typing (Traub, Raymond & Startsman, 1971;Farmer, 1972;Edwards & Ewing, 1972;Grimont & Grimont, 1978;Branca et al 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiological and bacteriological investigation ofSerratia marcescensepidemic in a nursery and in a neonatal intensive care unit

Montanaro

Grasso

Annino

et al. 1984

J. Hyg.

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SUMMARYAn epidemic caused by Serratia marcescens that involved 26 infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and 82 infants admitted to the Nursery of the 2nd Medical School of Naples is reported. Two different biotypes of S. marcescens with two completely different epidemiological patterns were identified. The prevalent biotype (A8b trigonelline-) was isolated in the delivery room, in the operating room, in the Nursery and in the NICU from items, healthy infant exereters and affected infants; the second biotype (A3a) was isolated only in the NICU from staff, two healthy infant exereters and two affected infants. Colonization of the throat and the gastrointestinal tract was frequent. Infected and colonized infants were the most important reservoir for serratia in the Nursery and in the NICU particularly for the type strain A3a. A mucus aspiration apparatus contaminated in the delivery room and the contamination of several instruments and items probably had a major role in the initiation and maintenance of the spread of the A8b strain. Mass contamination of the nursery has been related to overcrowding and a lack of the control measures; the transfer of high-risk colonized infants caused spread in the NICU.In the NICU the attack rate was 26 0; 69 % of infants became ill; the case fatality ratio was 19 0. Epidemiological investigation of the infants at risk showed some factors predisposing to infection with serratia. The hygienic measures failed to control the spread of serratia and it was necessary to refuse new admissions to pregnant women in order to decontaminate and re-organize the wards.

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An Outbreak of Serratia marcescens, and Its Control

Cited by 61 publications

References 13 publications

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Search for Serratia

Serratia Infections: from Military Experiments to Current Practice

Epidemiological and bacteriological investigation ofSerratia marcescensepidemic in a nursery and in a neonatal intensive care unit

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