While the Orange County (Calif.) Health Department has known since December 2016 about a MRSA outbreak at UC Irvine Medical Centert hat sickened 10 critically ill infants over eight months, the situation was just recently made public, according to an article on the Becker's Infection Control and Clinical Quality website.
The outbreak was brought to public attention after a patient safety advocate filed a complaint with the state regarding the situation. The advocate reportedly learned about the outbreak from a friend who works at UC Irvine, according to the LA Times.
The source of the infection is unknown. In January, four employees tested positive for the same strain of MRSA, but were treated and have since tested negative, according to the report.
The hospital officials did not warn families expecting infants of the outbreak because the infected patients were isolated, according to the report.
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