Colonization With Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Evacuees After Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

After Hurricane Katrina, 50 patients were evacuated to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, with limited medical records. The infection control department ordered contact precautions for 16 Patients. Surveillance cultures performed on admission identified colonization with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in 9 patients (18%). Presence of a wound was the strongest predictor for MDR colonization. More data are needed to reliably predict MDR bacterial colonization.