Control Norovirus Transmission And Influenza study (CONTAIN)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
COntain Norovirus Transmission And INfluenza study (CONTAIN)
IRAS ID
161589
Contact name
Tabitha Kavoi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2014/10/07, Data protection registration
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 29 days
Research summary
Viral infections such as influenza ('flu) and norovirus cause major disruption in hospitals because they cause outbreaks. This leads to ward closures, lengthier hospital stays for patients and it is expensive: norovirus outbreaks in hospitals are estimated to cost more than £100 million per year.
Norovirus causes diarrhoea and vomiting and spreads easily between patients in hospitals. We know it spreads between people who are sick but it can also be transmitted by touching a contaminated surface, and by people who are infected but don't have symptoms such as healthcare workers. Influenza spreads when people cough but it can also be spread by hands contaminated with the virus. Understanding how these viruses transmit on a hospital ward during an outbreak is important because it tells us how we might shorten or prevent future outbreaks, bringing major benefits for patients and hospitals.
Until recently it was very difficult to determine who infected whom during an outbreak. This has changed with the development of whole genome sequencing (WGS) which allows detailed comparison of viruses obtained from infected people. Those with similar viruses are likely to have infected each other, or been infected by a single person in a setting such as a hospital ward. Those with dissimilar viruses probably caught infection from people in a different setting, perhaps before they were admitted to hospital. By putting this information together with clinical data we can map how infection moves between people and who infected whom.
In this study a researcher will collect clinical data, stool samples (norovirus) and throat swabs (influenza) from patients and healthcare workers on the ward during an outbreak. Using WGS we will develop a mathematical model of how norovirus and influenza transmit in hospital.REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/1433
Date of REC Opinion
17 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion