Neonatal outbreak of Salmonella worthington in a general hospital.

This is a report of an outbreak of Salmonella worthington in neonates at Sassoon General Hospitals, Pune, which occurred during August and September 2000. A total of 148 blood, 4 CSF and 6 stool specimens were received from neonates admitted to the hospital. Salmonella worthington could be isolated from 17 clinical specimens [15 blood (10.8%), 1 CSF (25%) and 1 stool (16.6%) sample]. Environmental swabs were also processed. An attempt was made to detect carriers in health care personnel. However, no source or carrier of Salmonella worthington in the hospital environment could be identified. Intensive cleaning measures and fumigation were undertaken. All these measures succeeded in aborting the outbreak.