The importance of infection prevention and control

The prevention and control of infection in all healthcare settings (including hospitals, GP surgeries, care facilities, individual homes and schools) is highly important. In environments with those who are immunocompromised, usually those in hospitals, with chronic illnesses or the elderly, catching NFGNB infections could potentially be fatal. Therefore, having a strategy to aid infection prevention and control can be invaluable.

To first decide how to approach infection prevention and control, the routes of transmission need to be identified. The most frequent routes of transmission are:

• Direct contact

• Oral ingestion

• Inhalation

• Absorption through the skin

• Blood or bodily fluid contamination

• Zoonosis – often insects

Knowledge of these routes is vital in the prevention and control of infection. As microbes differ in properties such as transmissibility, measures which target specific infections and tackle one or two possible entry routes may be required.

As there are many microbes in the environment which can cause infections, general preventative measures are still important to protect patients vulnerable to infection with NFGNB.

Such preventative measures will work alongside antimicrobial stewardship programs in the face of increasing antimicrobial resistance.