An outbreak of multidrug-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia and bacteremia among unvaccinated nursing home residents

All nursing home residents should be vaccinated against pneumococcal pneumonia. In a 1996 outbreak in an Oklahoma nursing home, 11 residents developed pneumococcal pneumonia, and 3 died. A strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae that was resistant to several drugs was found in blood and sputum samples from 7 residents with pneumonia, 23% of the other residents and 3% of the staff members. All of the strains were identical, indicating that they were transmitted from one person to another. Only 4% of the residents had been vaccinated with pneumococcal vaccine.