Whirlpool-associated folliculitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: report of an outbreak and review

• Published in: Journal of Clinical Microbiology
• Main Authors: Ratnam, S, Hogan, K, March, S B, Butler, R W
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Microbiology 1986
• Subjects: Canada; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jcm.23.3.655-659.1986; https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/jcm.23.3.655-659.1986

An outbreak of folliculitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa serotype O:7 occurred among the guests of a hotel in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, and the source of the infection was traced to the hotel whirlpool. Of 36 persons who used the whirlpool, 26 (72%) developed folliculitis within 1 to 5 days after exposure; the attack rate was significantly higher for children (90%) than for adults (50%). The rash characteristics were consistent with those of Pseudomonas folliculitis previously described (T. L. Gustafson, J. D. Band, R. H. Hutcheson, Jr., and W. Schaffner, Rev. Infect. Dis. 5:1-8, 1983). This is considered to be the first outbreak in which P. aeruginosa serotype O:7 has been incriminated. Published reports to date of outbreaks of Pseudomonas folliculitis associated with the use of whirlpools, hot tubs, swimming pools, etc., were reviewed.