A meeting and a workshop on the ECDC point prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in acute care hospitals took take place in London on 5-6 March 2012.
Patient transfer between hospitals and in particular between countries, is a risk factor for the spread of bacteria that are resistant to last-line antibiotics. More specifically, for highly resistant bacteria, like carbapenamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), the risk is heightened when patients are transferred from, or have received previous medical care in areas with high rates of bacterial resistance. These are conclusions from a risk assessment produced by ECDC that evaluated the risk to the citizens of Europe, of the spread of CPE through patient transfer between healthcare facilities, with special emphasis on cross-border transfer.
On the occasion of World Hand Hygiene Day, 5th May, ECDC is releasing new web pages dedicated to the Healthcare-associated Infections Surveillance Network (HAI-Net) – a European network for HAI surveillance, coordinated by ECDC.
This will be the first joint meeting of the EARS-Net and HAI-Net Coordination groups. The meeting will address epidemiological, microbiological and technical aspects related to surveillance and reporting of antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections.