A Handbook of Infection Control for the Asian Healthcare Worker [antikvár]

Chapter 1Initiating Nationwide Infection Control Programmes in the Asian ContextThe field of hospital infection control started in the middle of the 1800s when Semmelweis and Nightingale introduced sanitation and hygienic practices into the hospital. However, modem 'infection control', as practised today, was initiated when a sériés of widely publicized hospital outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus infection in the 1950s occurred in North America and the UK. In response to these outbreaks, various healthcare institutions, including the American Hospital Association (AHA), initiated programmes for the surveillance and control of these infections.1 Today, after more than 30 years, such programmes are fully integrated into the routine practice of hospitals in the Western hemisphere and are recognized as essential elements of quality practice.2 Nevertheless, in the developing world, the infrastructure for such programmes is still often inadéquate. The problem is not simply the lack of resources, but a lack of awareness of the importance of preventing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).3In Asia, the state of development of infection control practice varies between countries. It is reassuring to know, however, that the movement is vibrant and active in many countries. A group of senior infection control professionals from 16 countries gathered in Hong Kong, in 1998, to launch the Asia Pacific Society of Infection Control. They reported that full-time personnel and infrastructure exist in most of the countries represented.Infection Controlfvr the Asian Healthcare Worker