TORONTO—When an outbreak of Klebsiella oxytoca hit Toronto from 2006 to 2011, its source was mysterious to say the least. And then, investigators finally solved the case. The outbreak culprit: hospital sinks.
State-of-the-art handwashing sinks in the intensive care unit and some patient rooms at Mount Sinai Hospital were carrying a drug-resistant bacterium (Klebsiella oxytoca) that was wrecking havoc on patient health, according to a report by Canada's CTV News.
Hospital researchers reported their case in the August issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Klebsiella oxytoca, a bacterium that normally lives in the human digestive tract, can cause urinary tract infections and bacteremia and in this case, caused investigators a big headache.
Researchers from the hospital have reported the finding of their investigation in the August issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
"When ICU patients became infected even though there were no Klebsiella oxytoca carriers in the ICU, it became clear there had to be a non-human source. Then began a process of elimination," CTV reported.
To read more about the Toronto outbreak and how health teams found the source, click here.
