In nursing homes, influenza spreads quickly. Even in facilities with separate wings, staff move throughout the home, caring for medically complex older adults who often share rooms. In this way, a single case of influenza can rapidly become a facility-wide outbreak.
National guidelines recommend treating all eligible nursing home residents with antiviral medications at the start of an outbreak to reduce the spread of disease and prevent serious outcomes. But the evidence is limited on how fast nursing homes need to act, and how many of their residents need to be treated.
A new study led by researchers from Brown’s School of Public Health could inform real-world outbreak management and clarify key guidelines for nursing home staff and clinicians.
Led by Andrew Zullo, associate professor of…