International Infection Prevention Week: Break the Chain of Infection

Our series on Politics and Science will continue next week!

This week is International Infection Prevention Week, an annual event to bring awareness of infection prevention to both the healthcare provider and consumer. This year's theme is "Break the Chain of Infection." Check out their infographic below.

During the course of a patient's stay in a hospital, there are a number of opportunities for infection. It is up to the healthcare team to mitigate these opportunities to reduce the chances of infection. With their human processes - cleaning, washing hands, removing catheters - they reduce the chance of transmission of infectious pathogens. Identifying the links in the chain help healthcare workers know when and how they can make a difference.

The effectiveness of the analogy of the chain comes in because infection prevention is about preventing pathogens from reaching patients. If you break that connection, that chain, then you reduce the chances of infection.

For an idea of new technologies available to break the chain without human processes, check out these blog posts!

Routes of Transmission: How do Germs get Around?	Preventive|Biocidal Surfaces: A New Category of Clean	The Rules of Engagement in the War Against Germs: Standard Contact Precautions
Superbugs: Horizontal Gene Transfer	Career Focus: What is a Hospital Epidemiologist?	For more information in International Infection Prevention Week, please visit www.apic.org.