Why are the questions about Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control actual nowadays? It is easy to answer.
First of all, our society has already realized the economic significance of this problem in comparison with the world experience, than, it is obvious that there is the requirement increase of medical help (insurance medicine) and introduction of new medical technologies.
To start analyzing the main topic it is necessary to make the definition of one concept- hospital infection. Hospital-acquired infection or the synonym ”“ nosocomial infection is any infection which a patient does not have even in incubation period before coming to the hospital. The infection control as the system based on the results of epidemiological diagnostics of organizational, preventive and antiepidemic measures is directed to warning of origin and spreading of nosocomial infections. The consequences of hospital infections can be quite different. They are additional morbidity, the increase of hospitalization time, growth of hospitalization charges, physical and neurological complications, violation of development and even patients’ deaths.
Consequently, hospital epidemiology has such tasks as: avoiding of those consequences, investigation of ictuses, determination of risk presence, liquidation or maximal decrease of the risk, isolation measures, maintenance of health among medical personnel, disinfection and sterilization, control of services work and state of environment (water-supply, filtration of air). Not to be unsubstantiated, it is important to prove everything said before. For example, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) that was founded in 1980 has the common tasks. It reads:
“SHEA focuses on a variety of disciplines and activities
directed at preventing and controlling infections and
adverse outcomes and enhancing the quality-of-care,
including:
Epidemiologic and laboratory investigation
Surveillance
Risk reduction programs focused on device and procedure
management
Policy development and implementation
Education and information dissemination
Cost-benefit assessment of infection prevention and control
Programs”.
But firstly, it is vitally important to know the aetiology of nosocamial infection, than its pathogenesis and of course how it is transmitted. No doubt it is also necessary to know isolation precautions, vaccination status and at last decontamination and treatment.
But let’s sum what is meant under the concept of infection control and what is the main? If to be guided by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, it necessary to underline such healthcare facilities in infection control. They are hand hygiene, cleaning, disinfection and sterilization, personal protective equipment, vaccination of health care workers, surveillance for emerging infections. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia reads:
“Infection control concerns itself both with prevention
(hand hygiene/hand washing,
cleaning/disinfection/sterilization, vaccination,
surveillance) and with investigation and management of
demonstrated or suspected spread of infection within a
particular health-care setting (e.g. outbreak
investigation). It is on this basis that the common title
being adopted within health care is “Infection Prevention &
Control”.
Hence, hospital epidemiology is a science that treats with the methods of infection identification, control and its prevention. Hospital epidemiology is the base of proper organized infection control and health care in general.