Infection Control

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Every year, lives are lost because of the spread of infections in hospitals. Health care workers can take steps to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. These steps are part of infection control.

Proper hand washing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of infections in hospitals. If you are a patient, don't be afraid to remind friends, family and health care providers to wash their hands before getting close to you.

Other steps health care workers can take include

• Covering coughs and sneezes
• Staying up-to-date with immunizations
• Using gloves, masks and protective clothing
• Making tissues and hand cleaners available
• Following hospital guidelines when dealing with blood or contaminated items

Start Here

• Facts about Infectious Diseases (ID) (Infectious Diseases Society of America)
• Infection Prevention and You (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) - PDF
• Patient Safety: What You Can Do to Be a Safe Patient (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Preventing Infections in the Hospital (National Patient Safety Foundation)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• CDC Vital Signs: Making Health Care Safer -- Protect Patients from Antibiotic Resistance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Top 9 Ways to Reduce the Risk of Pneumonia If You or a Loved One Is Hospitalized (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology)

Related Issues

• CDC Vital Signs: Making Health Care Safer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Encourage Your Workers to Report Bloodborne Pathogen Exposures (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
• Hand Hygiene: When and How (World Health Organization) - PDF
• How Infections Spread (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• How to be a good visitor during flu season (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology)
• Infection (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
• Infection Control in Dental Settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Infectious Disease Specialist: What Is an Infectious Disease Specialist? (Infectious Diseases Society of America)
• Laundry: Washing Infected Material (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Patient Safety Threat - Syringe Reuse (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Your Microbes and You (National Institutes of Health)

Specifics

• Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) Infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Diseases and Organisms in Healthcare Settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• FAQs about Catheter-Associated Bloodstream Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
• FAQs about Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
• Frequently Asked Questions about Surgical Site Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Frequently Asked Questions about Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Healthcare Settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• VISA/VRSA (Vancomycin-Intermediate/Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in Healthcare Settings (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Videos and Tutorials

• Clean Hands Count (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Statistics and Research

• Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) Data and Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Infection Control (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Nosocomial (Hospital-Acquired) Infections (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Public Health Emergency Preparedness: Globalizing Risk, Localizing Threats.
• Article: Decontamination Strategies and Bloodstream Infections With Antibiotic-Resistant Microorganisms in Ventilated...
• Article: Infection Prevention for the Emergency Department: Out of Reach or...
• Infection Control -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• World Health Organization

Patient Handouts

• After an exposure to sharps or body fluids (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bloodborne pathogens (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Central line infections - hospitals (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cleaning supplies and equipment (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cleaning to prevent the spread of germs (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Isolation precautions (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Personal protective equipment (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Preventing infections when visiting (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Staph infections - hospital (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish