Nosocomial infections and the challenges of control in developing countries.

Abstract

Nosocomial infection is a recognized public health problem worldwide with a prevalence rate of 3.0-20.7% and an incidence rate of 5-10%. It has become increasingly obvious that infections acquired in the hospital lead to increased morbidity and mortality which has added noticeably to economic burden. However, after about three decades of nosocomial infection surveillance and control worldwide , it still remains an important problem for hospitals today. Studies have shown that most hospitals in developing countries especially Africa, have no effective infection control programme due to lack of awareness of the problem, lack of personnel, poor water supply, erratic electricity supply, ineffective antibiotic policies with emergence of multiply antibiotic resistant microbes, poor laboratory backup, poor funding and non-adherence to safe practices by health workers. It is recommended that the cost of hospital infection control programme should be included in the health budget of the country and fund allocated for the infection control committee for routine control purposes and to bear the cost of outbreaks. There is need for adequate staffing and continuous education of staff on the principles of infection control, especially hand washing which is the single most important effective measure to reduce the risks of cross infection.

Comparative evaluation of the antimicrobial profile of Moringa leaf and seed oil extracts against resistant strains of wound pathogens in orthopedic hospitals

“…However, S. aureus was the only gram positive organism identified in the samples. This observation corroborates with the findings from other work where S. aureus was reported as the predominant gram positive bacterial isolate in wound infections (Samuel et al, 2010;Magiorakos et al, 2012). The antibiogram of the isolates screened in this study showed that over 90% of the bacterial species showed high level of resistance to most of the tested antibiotics (cloxacillin, erythromycin, amoxycilin, augmentin and tetracycline).…”

Impact of sensitization workshop on knowledge and awareness of hospital-acquired infection among nurses of a teaching hospital in India

“…1,4 Hospitals provide a favorable transmission pathway for the spread of HAI, owing partly to poor infection control practices among health workers on one hand, and overcrowding of patients in most clinical settings on the other. 1,4,5 We evaluated the impact of a sensitization workshop on knowledge and awareness of HAI among the nurses of a teaching hospital in India.…”

“…1,2 Of every 100 hospitalized patients at any given time, 7 in developed countries, and 10 in developing countries will acquire at least one HAI. 3 The prevalence of HAI in developed countries varies between 5% and 15% 5 and it varies between 5.7% and 19.1% in low-and middleincome countries.…”

A 5 - year surveillance of wound infections at a rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria

“…Control of wound infections has been very challenging due to widespread bacterial resistance to antibiotics and due to an increasing incidence of infection caused by methicillin -resistant Staphylococus aureus (MRSA) and polymicrobic flora 6 . Studies have shown that most hospitals in developing countries especially Africa, have rudimentary and highly compromised infection control programmes due to lack of awareness of the problem, lack of personnel , poor water supply, erratic electricity supply, poor laboratory back up and funding 7 . These factors are rife in most rural health care centres in Nigeria, and underscore the need for this study.…”