Public Health Flashcards
When was the health act introduced to improve infection control?
2006
What are the main causative organisms of hospital required infection?
C Diff
MRSA
What are the main steps of infection control?
Reduce risk,
Educate,
Audit
Define infection
Affected with a disease causing organism. Different to colonisation.
4 Steps to better infection control?
- ID risk
- Identify routes/modes of transmission
- Determine virulence of organisms
- -> Ease of spread
- -> Likelihood of causing infection
- -> Consequences if infected - Remediable factors
Pathways of spread of infection?
Patient A —> Environment/Staff/Direct —> Patient B
What are CPEs?
Carbapenemase producing Enterobacteriaceae
- Gram -ve bacteria
- Becoming increasingly resistance
What are carbapenems?
Broadest spectrum antibiotics. Used to be last line but now 2nd/1st
What are the most significance high prevalence pockets of CPEs?
North west and London
How to prevent patient A spreading disease?
- Identify risk factors
- Screening
- Clinical diagnosis
- Lab diagnosis
How to prevent direct transmission of disease?
- Isolation - barrier/protective
- Ward design
- Depends on transmission mode
What happened in the 2014 MRSA outbreak?
- Staph aureus outbreak
- Resistant to penicillin
- Developed resistance to flucloxacillin
How was the MRSA outbreak prevented?
- Hand washing
- Beds further apart
- More sinks and bathrooms
What is norovirus?
- Single stranded RNA genome
- Non-envelope
- 30nm diameter
- Cause gastroenteritis outbreaks in adults and children
- ALCOHOL GEL DOESNT WORK - WASH HANDS
- Resistant to conventional cleaning
- Persists in environment
- Short incubation period
- Close contact spread
How to prevent transition to patients via staff?
HANDWASHING - 5 moments
- PPE
- Disposal of sharps
- Endogenous infection where colonising bacteria turns into an infection
- Good nutrition and hydration
- Remove lines/catheters
