Infection Control Horizon Scanning Volume 2 Issue 7

How to run a successful seasonal flu jab campaign

Source: Canadian Medical Association Journal [July 19 e-pub ahead of print]

For fulltext link here

Date of publication: July 2010

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: A review by Canadian researchers has concluded that the most successful way to run a seasonal flu vaccination campaign is to use a combination of interventions.  The authors also state that “campaigns involving legislative or regulatory components (e.g., mandatory declination form, mandatory masks for unvaccinated personnel) achieved higher rates than other interventions”.

Length of publication: 7 pages

Acknowledgement: NursingTimes.net

Reducing healthcare associated infection improvement guide

Source: NHS Wales 1000 Lives campaign

For fulltext link here

Date of publication: April 2010

Publication type: Best practice

In a nutshell: A guide produced as part of the NHS Wales 1000 Lives campaign as a resource to enable healthcare organisations and their teams to successfully implement a series of interventions to improve the safety and quality of care that their patients receive.

Length of publication: 44 pages

European experts agree top 5 priorities for hospital infection control guidance

Source: European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC)

For fulltext link here

Date of publication: June 2010

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: This is the report of the expert consultation on healthcare-associated infection prevention and control meeting held by the ECDC in Stockholm in February 2010.  The aim of the meeting was to reach a consensus on the current needs and key priorities for developing evidence-based guidance on prevention of healthcare acquired infections at the European level.  The top five organisational elements of hospital infection control programmes and top five care-specific measures were agreed.  Future ECDC guidance will focus on these top 5 elements.

Length of publication: 13 pages

Revolutionary dressing that can detect and treat infections

Source: University of Bath

For fulltext link here

Date of publication: July 2010

Publication type: News story

In a nutshell: Academics from The University of Bath are working alongside the burns team from the Southwest UK Paediatric Burns Centre at Frenchay Hospital on the £3.7m EC-funded Bacteriosafe project.  The project aims to create a revolutionary dressing that works by releasing antibiotics from nanocapsules when disease-causing pathogenic bacteria are present.  It is hoped that the dressing will be developed in a way that will cause it to change colour when an infection is present.

Length of publication: Web page

Acknowledgment: NursingTimes.net

Painless patches may replace flu jabs

Source: NHS Choices: Behind the Headlines

For fulltext link here

Date of publication: July 2010

Publication type: News story

In a nutshell: Summary of the media coverage of the news that skin patches could replace the traditional flu vaccination, and an appraisal of the original research published in Nature Medicine that sparked the wide press coverage.

Length of publication: Web page

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