| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of our study was to investigate and control an outbreak and identify risk factors for colonization and infection with <it>Serratia marcescens</it> in two departments in Tartu University Hospital.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The retrospective case–control study was conducted from July 2005 to December 2006. Molecular typing by pulsed field gel electrophoresis was used to confirm the relatedness of <it>Serratia marcescens</it> strains. Samples from the environment and from the hands of personnel were cultured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The outbreak involved 210 patients, 61 (29%) developed an infection, among them 16 were invasive infections. Multivariate analysis identified gestational age, arterial catheter use and antibiotic treatment as independent risk factors for colonization and infection with <it>Serratia marcescens.</it> Molecular typing was performed on 83 <it>Serratia marcescens</it> strains, 81 of them were identical and 2 strains were different.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Given the occasionally severe consequences of <it>Serratia marcescens</it> in infants<b>,</b> early implementation of aggressive infection control measures involving patients and mothers as well as the personnel is of utmost importance.</p>
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