OBJECTIVE To investigate and control a cluster of invasive fungal infection (IFI) in a burn intensive care unit after severe burns, providing practical experience for hospital-associated infection prevention and control.

METHODS An epidemiological characteristic investigation and environmental homology analysis were conducted on four IFI patients in the burn intensive care unit from Jul. 10 to Jul. 23, 2021. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to analyze the homology between patient isolates and environmental strains.

RESULTS The four cases showed clustering in spatial, temporal and population distributions, with highly similar drug susceptibility profiles (all resistant to fluconazole but susceptible to other drugs). Among 156 environmental samples collected, 35 were positive, yielding 5 Candida parapsilosis, 7 Bacillus cereus, 5 Bacillus subtilis, 8 Acinetobacter baumannii and 10 Klebsiella pneumoniae. The C. parapsilosis strains isolated from three patients′ blood samples exhibited high homology and were closely related to the C. parapsilosis strains detected in the bed unit environments of two patients. Targeted intervention measures were developed for controlling ward humidity and other reasons. No new infections were reported within two weeks post-intervention, and no target strains were detected in the environment.

CONCLUSIONS Strict control of ward temperature and humidity, as well as enhanced cleaning and disinfection measures, are effective measures for controlling this cluster.