A plethora of studies in the medical literature has demonstrated that nearly everything in the healthcare setting – from surfaces, to healthcare workers’ hands, to medical equipment and everything in between — can serve as a reservoir and a vector for opportunistic pathogenic organisms. The acquisition of infections in the healthcare facility is aided by a number of important factors, including:
• The persistence of some bacteria and viruses on inanimate objects and surfaces for weeks and months (Kramer, et. al., 2006)
• The lack of hand hygiene and sanitation in healthcare facilities (Pittet, et al., 2000)
• Breaches in evidence-based infection prevention practices
• The growing volume of patients admitted in acute-care hospitals and increasing clinical acuity of immunocompromised patients (Johnston and Bryce, 2009)
• The growing shortage of healthcare professionals and the tendency to cut corners by existing staff
All of these factors can create that “perfect storm” where healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) can brew, unless all healthcare workers understand and implement proper hygiene practices to help prevent the unintended transmission of bacteria and viruses.
The stakes are getting higher these days, with the list of significant hospital pathogens growing in length. Lisa A. Morici, PhD, research assistant professor at Tulane University Health Sciences Center’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, says she is seeing everything from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin resistant and susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Haemophilus influenzae, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus or S. epidermidis, Enterococcus sp., Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida species and Acinetobacter baumannii.
“The majority of these organisms are opportunistic pathogens in that they can only cause disease in immunocompromised individuals or when there has been a breach in natural host defenses,” Morici explains. “Thus, the greatest threat is to the patient. Threats include cross-transmission among patients and increased antibiotic resistance among these organisms leading to increased difficulty in eradication and treatment of infections. Risks to caregivers include colonization with antibiotic resistant organisms that can be transmitted to personal contacts or lead to endogenous infection when that person becomes immunocompromised.”
