Nursing home residents undergoing dialysis might be at a higher risk for infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, because of exposures to staff members and community dialysis patients, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers investigating a COVID-19 outbreak in a Maryland nursing home identified a significantly higher prevalence of the disease among residents receiving dialysis (47%) than among those not receiving dialysis (16%); 72% were asymptomatic at the time of testing.
Attention to infection control practices and surveillance in nursing homes and dialysis centers is critical to preventing outbreaks of COVID-19 in nursing homes, they said.
Findings were released early in the Aug. 11 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
