A case of nosocomial cholera during a community outbreak in a Thai-Myanmar border area.

The present study presents a case of nosocomial cholera in one general hospital located in a Thai-Myanmar border area. Between May and October 2007, a community outbreak of cholera with 477 cases took place in Mae Sot District, Tak Province. A 71-year-old diabetic female who had undergone craniotomy following intracerebral hemorrhage contracted nosocomial cholera with mild diarrhea on August 6, 2007, 37 days after admission in a female ward of the Mae Sot hospital. She received a nasogastric tube-fed diet four times a day. The investigation suggested that the tube-fed diet might have been contaminated with V. cholerae O1 directly from an infected caretaker. This caretaker was culture-positive for cholera of the same biotype, serotype, and antibiograms. The present report indicates that during a community outbreak of cholera, nosocomial infection can occur in the hospital. Thus, a program of nosocomial infection control is essential in the hospital.