Infection control practices for SARS in Lao People's Democratic Republic, Taiwan, and Thailand: Experience from mobile SARS containment teams, 2003

BACKGROUND: Despite available recommendations on infection control for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), information is limited on actual practices in Asian hospitals during the epidemic. We describe practices observed by mobile SARS containment teams (mobile teams) during outbreak investigations. METHODS: We retrospectively summarized infection control practices observed in hospitals visited by mobile teams in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), Taiwan, and Thailand, during March and April 2003. RESULTS: Mobile teams investigated 22 reports of SARS in 20 hospitals (1, 5, and 14 hospitals in Lao PDR, Taiwan, and Thailand, respectively). Facilities ranged from urban hospitals with negative-pressure isolation rooms and high-efficiency particulate air filtration to rural hospitals with patient rooms open to outside air circulation and intermittent running water. At the time of mobile team visits, 5 (25%) hospitals implemented infection control practices consistent with World Health Organization recommendations on visitor policies, private negative-pressure rooms, and personal protective equipment. CONCLUSIONS: Early in the SARS epidemic, mobile teams found wide variations in infection control practices and resources among Asian hospitals evaluating patients for SARS, indicating the importance of ongoing assessment during SARS preparedness. Mobile teams are one mechanism to assess practices and promote implementation of recommended infection control measures.