Intensive care units are high-risk areas for endemic and epidemic nosocomial infections. Although epidemics in the ICU represent only a small proportion of all nosocomial infections, they provide a meaningful tool to define modes of transmission, common sources, or reservoirs associated with specific infections. This article reviews the recent literature about outbreaks of nosocomial infections in the ICU, highlights investigational methods to determine modes of transmission, and describes some intervention methods to stop epidemics in the ICU.

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