NEWS
2006
Infection Control Guide
Hand Hygeine -
Coming out in the wash

Fighting infections is a never-ending battle against invisible enemies, but a number of new products and new technology innovations give healthcare workers enhanced ammunition. Our 2006 Infection Control Buyers Guide, was designed to provide quick access to suppliers of infection control products – including everything from air filtration systems and disinfectants, to hand sanitizers, protective apparel and wound care products.

Increasing and emerging threats

At the Tenth Conference of Infectious Disease, underwritten by an education grant from Kimberly-Clark, and presented by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), December 6-8, 2005, a nationally recognized faculty of infectious disease, patient, and workplace safety experts spoke on current issues in infectious disease.
Denise M. Cardo, MD, director, division of healthcare quality promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opened the Conference with her presentation on the latest public health and infection control issues from the perspective of the CDC. Dr. Cardo discussed emerging threats in healthcare; the role of the healthcare system in a pandemic response; public reporting of healthcare-associated infections; and initiatives to improve patient outcomes.

Describing recent outbreaks of gram-negative bacteria, Dr. Cardo explained, while "advances in medicine and infection control will likely never eliminate outbreaks, they will change the types of outbreaks we see and make them more and more complicated to investigate". She explained how "old" pathogens like C. difficille remain a major challenge and are learning new tricks" such as new antimicrobial resistance patterns, and increased toxic production.

In early March 2006, the Infectious Diseases Society of America released a "hit list" of six drug-resistant "superbugs." No. 1 on that list is the potentially deadly strain of staph called MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). These six "superbugs" are especially dangerous because few or no new drugs are being developed to treat them.
"While MRSA infections used to be limited primarily to hospitals, they are becoming increasingly common in communities nationwide, especially where groups of people are in close quarters, including military facilities, sports teams, and prisons. The number of infected children jumped 28 percent between 2001 and 2004," said the IDSA.
 
According to Linda Spaulding, RNC, CIC founder and CEO, InCo and Associates LLC, Lakewood Ranch, FL, "When it comes to resistant organisms such as methicillin resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) or vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE), some parts of the country are having a real problem controlling them. But there are still areas throughout the United States that have not seen large numbers of these organisms. It all depends on antibiotic use or misuse in the area, what the nurse to patient ratio is and the quality of the facility’s infection control program."

"At some point I would hope the Department of Health in each state would begin researching community acquired MRSA," Spaulding continued. "It has become a big problem in many areas of the United States. We spend so much time concentrating on hospital acquired MRSA and preventing the spread from an infected patient to another susceptible patient in the hospitals, but very little is being done to investigate community acquired MRSA. Research is increasing in this area but we have a long way to go."

A key to prevention of MRSA is keeping hands clean to prevent cross-contamination. Look for products to help fight MRSA. For example, Mölnlycke Health Care Group’s antimicrobial, antiseptic product, Hibiclens, which contains chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), has been proven to kill MRSA (in vitro) and other staph infections. In addition, studies show that silver applied in the form of AcryMed’s SilvaSorb Gel is highly effective against MRSA.

For more on hand hygiene, see our Tips from the CDC "How to Guide for Improving Hand Hygiene" , our Hand Hygiene Glossary, and our Hand Hygiene Tool Box. HPN

June
2006