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Volume 15, Number 9—September 2009

Research

Nurses’ Contacts and Potential for Infectious Disease Transmission

Helen BernardComments to Author , Richela Fischer, Rafael T. Mikolajczyk, Mirjam Kretzschmar, and Manfred Wildner
Author affiliations: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (H. Bernard); Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim, Germany (H. Bernard, R. Fischer, M. Wildner); University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany (R.T. Mikolajczyk); National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands (M. Kretzschmar); University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands (M. Kretzschmar).

Main Article

Table 1

Characteristics of 131 nurses surveyed to determine extent of work and other contacts, Bavaria, Germany, April–July 2007*

Characteristic No. (%) nurses Median no. reported contacts p value
Sex
Female 115 (88) 40 0.35
Male
 16 (12)
 41
Leisure activities >1×/wk in group of >5 persons
 68 (52)
Use of public transportation
Any 86 (66)
Daily
 7 (8)
Day of diary completion
Weekday (Monday–Friday) 96 (73) 41.5 <0.05
Weekend (Saturday/Sunday) 33 (25) 32
Unknown
 2 (2)
Hospital department
Internal medicine 60 (46) 40 0.46
Surgery 60 (46) 41.5
Both
 11 (8)
Hospital level of care
I (basic) 60 (46) 42 0.35
II (intermediate) 20 (15) 31.5
III (maximum) 51 (39) 39

*Mean age of nurses was 35 y (range 18–59 y). Mean number of household members was 2 (range 1–7).

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