TY - JOUR
T1 - Using the Pillars of Infection Prevention to Build an Effective Program for Reducing the Transmission of Emerging and Reemerging Infections
AU - Branch-Elliman, Westyn
AU - Savor Price, Connie
AU - Bessesen, Mary T.
AU - Perl, Trish M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Connie Savor Price, Mary T. Bessesen, and Trish M. Perl are coinvestigators on the RESPECT Trial, which is funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Veterans Health Administration.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Springer International Publishing AG.
PY - 2015/9/1
Y1 - 2015/9/1
N2 - Preventing transmission of emerging infectious diseases remains a challenge for infection prevention and occupational safety programs. The recent Ebola and measles outbreaks highlight the need for pre-epidemic planning, early identification, and appropriate isolation of infected individuals and health care personnel protection. To optimally allocate limited infection control resources, careful consideration of major modes of transmission, the relative infectiousness of the agent, and severity of the pathogen-specific disease are considered. A framework to strategically approach pathogens proposed for health care settings includes generic principles (1) elimination of potential exposure, (2) implementation of administrative controls, (3) facilitation of engineering and environmental controls, and (4) protection of the health care worker and patient using hand hygiene and personal protective equipment. Additional considerations are pre-epidemic vaccination and incremental costs and benefits of infection prevention interventions. Here, major strategies for preventing health-care-associated transmissions are reviewed, including reducing exposure; vaccination; administrative, engineering, and environmental controls; and personal protective equipment. Examples from recent outbreaks are used to highlight key infection prevention aspects and controversies.
AB - Preventing transmission of emerging infectious diseases remains a challenge for infection prevention and occupational safety programs. The recent Ebola and measles outbreaks highlight the need for pre-epidemic planning, early identification, and appropriate isolation of infected individuals and health care personnel protection. To optimally allocate limited infection control resources, careful consideration of major modes of transmission, the relative infectiousness of the agent, and severity of the pathogen-specific disease are considered. A framework to strategically approach pathogens proposed for health care settings includes generic principles (1) elimination of potential exposure, (2) implementation of administrative controls, (3) facilitation of engineering and environmental controls, and (4) protection of the health care worker and patient using hand hygiene and personal protective equipment. Additional considerations are pre-epidemic vaccination and incremental costs and benefits of infection prevention interventions. Here, major strategies for preventing health-care-associated transmissions are reviewed, including reducing exposure; vaccination; administrative, engineering, and environmental controls; and personal protective equipment. Examples from recent outbreaks are used to highlight key infection prevention aspects and controversies.
KW - Basic reproductive number
KW - Emerging and reemerging infections
KW - Environmental controls
KW - Health-care-associated infections
KW - Infection prevention and control
KW - Transmission
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U2 - 10.1007/s40572-015-0059-7
DO - 10.1007/s40572-015-0059-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 26231500
AN - SCOPUS:84955679479
SN - 2196-5412
VL - 2
SP - 226
EP - 235
JO - Current environmental health reports
JF - Current environmental health reports
IS - 3
ER -