Infection prevention and control

Infection prevention and control is the discipline concerned with preventing healthcare-associated infections; a practical rather than academic sub-discipline of epidemiology. In Northern Europe, infection prevention and control is expanded from healthcare into a component in public health, known as "infection protection" (smittevern, smittskydd, Infektionsschutz in the local languages). It is an essential part of the infrastructure of health care. Infection control and hospital epidemiology are akin to public health practice, practiced within the confines of a particular health-care delivery system rather than directed at society as a whole. Infection control addresses factors related to the spread of infections within the healthcare setting, whether among patients, from patients to staff, from staff to patients, or among staff. This includes preventive measures such as hand washing, cleaning, disinfecting, sterilizing, and vaccinating. Other aspects include surveillance, monitoring, and investigating and managing suspected outbreaks of infection within a healthcare setting. A subsidiary aspect of infection control involves preventing the spread of antimicrobial-resistant organisms such as MRSA. This in turn connects to the discipline of antimicrobial stewardship—limiting the use of antimicrobials to necessary cases, as increased usage inevitably results in the selection and dissemination of resistant organisms. Antimicrobial medications (aka antimicrobials or anti-infective agents) include antibiotics, antibacterials, antifungals, antivirals and antiprotozoals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set up an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) unit in its Service Delivery and Safety department that publishes related guidelines. Aseptic technique is a key component of all invasive medical procedures. Similar control measures are also recommended in any healthcare setting to prevent the spread of infection generally. Hand washing Hand hygiene is one of the basic, yet most important steps in IPC (Infection Prevention and Control).