Infection Control in Hepatology and Gastroenterology Healthcare Facilities

Abstract

Infection control refers to policies and procedures used to minimize the risk of spreading infections, especially in hospitals and health care facilities. Nosocomial infection: An infection that develops during or as a result of an admission to a hospital and was not incubating at the time of admission (Siegel et al., 2007). Healthcare associated infections are associated with higher healthcare costs and may act as a surrogate for hospital quality of care (Kang et al., 2005). Healthcare-associated infections are also associated with considerable morbidity and mortality among infected patients and continue to increase in incidence despite laborious and costly infection prevention efforts (Toubes et al., 2003). The health-care environment contains a diverse population of microorganisms, but only a few are significant pathogens for susceptible humans (Bennett et al., 1998). Chain of infection components (Greene, 1969): 1. Adequate number of pathogenic organisms (dose) 2. Pathogenic organisms of sufficient virulence 3. A susceptible host 4. An appropriate mode of transmission or transferal of the organism in sufficient number from source to host 5. The correct portal of entry into the host Introduction and Aim of the Work 2 Standard precautions are the basic level of infection control precautions which are to be used, as a minimum, in the care of all patients (Siegel et al., 2007).