Health Care Workers Muffed H1N1 Flu Precautions

TORONTO, June 18, 2009— -- A snapshot of the health care workers who came down with the H1N1 flu in the first few weeks of the outbreak suggests that proper infection-control practices weren't uniformly followed, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today.

Despite that, only a handful of health care workers contracted the disease while at work and most of those who did were not seriously ill, according to Dr. Michael Bell, associate director for infection control in the CDC's National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases.

They may have dodged a bullet, though, as the pandemic strain has been less dangerous so far than many experts feared, Bell told a telephone news conference.

"I think we've been lucky that this first wave has not been as lethal as some people feared," Bell said.

He said flaws in infection control practices in the early weeks of the outbreak may be a "helpful learning experience."

Bell was referring to a report in the June 19 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which gave data on 48 cases of H1N1 infection among health care workers up to May 13.

The report is a "snapshot of what we know up to that time," he said, although continuing surveillance now suggests that 81 health care workers have been infected in the course of the outbreak.

But the jump does not reflect a "sudden or alarming change in pattern," Bell said. "We're not seeing anything that would indicate that health care personnel are overly represented among recognized cases in this country."

On the other hand, the lessons from the first 48 cases suggest that rigorous application of the CDC guidelines for infection control is vital to control transmission in health care settings.

A key is rapid recognition that a patient may be infected, he said.

"Probably the single most important thing is that infection patients be identified at the front door" so that health care workers can take the appropriate precautions, he said. "Identifying them up front is essential."