Managing pertussis among healthcare workers in a maternity ward

Pertussis is a highly contagious acute respiratory tract infection, with a poor prognosis in non-vaccinated new-borns. Objectives. - The authors had for aim to investigate an epidemic of 5 pertussis cases among health care workers (HCW) in our maternity ward with potential exposure of new-borns and to evaluate HCW compliance and experience gain. Methods. - A retrospective study was made using a questionnaire with HCW on preventive measures taken (antibiotic prophylaxis with erythromycin and wearing a mask). Results. - Two hundred and thirty-eight patients were warned of a potential pertussis contamination. No nosocomial case was detected among patients or their new borns. Ten proved or probable cases were identified arnong 101 HCW having answered (N = 101/210, 48%). Sixty percent of HCW people followed the antibiotic treatment and 85% wore a mask among whom 46% adequately. Non-compliance factors were related to adverse effects (41%), delayed information (41%), and false vaccine protection (22%). Crisis communication was felt as unsatisfactory for 72% of HCW and recommendations not adapted for 39% of the staff. Conclusion. - This survey points out the difficulty of managing a pertussis alert in a medical ward. (C) 2006 Elsevier SAS. Tous droits reserves.