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Friday, March 29, 2024

Seven burn patients at UF Health Shands Hospital were recently diagnosed with an infection known to attack the already ill.

Over four months, some patients in the burn unit became infected with the bacterium acinetobacter baumannii. Those infected were moved to isolation areas. All other patients have been removed from the burn unit, according to Chief Medical Officer Timothy Flynn in an email from spokeswoman Rossana Passaniti.

Antimicrobial agents have been used to treat the infected patients.

No one currently has a known active infection of the bacteria at the hospital, according to Shands.

The infections were discovered during a routine patient check. Burn victims are examined routinely due to their vulnerability to infection.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a common bacteria found in soil and water, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s website. Outbreaks typically occur in intensive care units, as healthy people are not normally affected by the bacteria.

Symptoms include a variety of diseases including pneumonia and serious blood or wound infections.

Burn victims are still being treated by the same specialty staff in other areas of the hospital, according to Shands.

Prior to the outbreak, the burn unit had been scheduled for renovations.

“We decided to take this opportunity to start the renovations now,” Flynn wrote in Passiniti’s email. “The renovations should return us to the eight-bed unit we have always had.”

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