Rhinovirus Outbreak in a Long Term Care Facility for Elderly Persons Associated with Unusually High Mortality

(See the editorial commentary by Atmar on pages 266–7) During a 6-week period in 2003, 56 residents and 26 staff developed respiratory illness in a long-term facility; 12 res-idents died. Seven of 13 respiratory specimens were culture-positive for rhinovirus; 6 of the isolates were serotype 82. In elderly populations, severe illness may be associated with organisms typically considered to be “benign, ” such as rhinovirus. Rhinovirus infections may account for up to one-third of cases of “common cold. ” The virus has 1100 serotypes, is ubiquitous, and can cause repeated episodes of infection throughout an individual’s lifetime [1]. Although infection in otherwise healthy persons is frequently self-limited, certain populations may be predisposed to severe manifestations, including bron-chiolitis and pneumonia in infants and exacerbations of pre-existing airway disease in persons with chronic obstructive lung disease, asthma, and cystic fibrosis [2]. With the development of sensitive PCR techniques, there is an increasing number of reports of severe rhinovirus infection in other populations, in-cluding elderly persons [3]. We describe a large outbreak of respiratory illness in a long-term care facility (LTCF) attributed to rhinovirus and the associated high morbidity and mortality. Methods. In June 2003, an outbreak of respiratory illness in a 99-bed LTCF was reported to the local health departmen