Infection Control and Prevention

The infections caused by germs and which may infect any part of the body are called infectious diseases. Diseases such as cancer can be treated by chemotherapy. Infection prevention and control is helpful to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. Some infectious diseases can be prevented by avoiding direct contact with the contagious person.  Infections can also be controlled and prevented by creating public awareness on various infectious diseases and their outbreaks. Recent techniques have proved that there is no disease that cannot be treated.

Infectious Diseases and Therapy is of high-quality preclinical, clinical, observational, real-world, and health outcomes research around the discovery, development, and use of infectious disease therapies and interventions, including vaccines and devices. Studies relating to diagnostic products and diagnosis, pharmacoeconomics, public health, quality of life, and patient care, management, and education are also encouraged.  The Global Infection Control in Cancer Therapy Market is poised to grow at a CAGR of around 15.5% over the forecast period 2015 to 2025.

MRSA has emerged as one of the predominant pathogens in healthcare-associated infections. Treatment options for MRSA are limited and less effective than options available for susceptible S. aureus infections and result in higher morbidity and mortality. Hospitals are debating whether to swab every patient upon admission for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or just every patient admitted to the intensive care unit, or just certain patient populations such as those undergoing dialysis or those in pediatric settings. Current estimates suggest that 49-65% of healthcare-associated S. aureus infections reported to NHSN are caused by methicillin- resistant strains.

The insertion, maintenance, and surveillance of intravenous systems require close attention by both physicians and nurses. Improvements are needed. Only with the combined efforts of all concerned will the hazards of intravenous therapy be reduced. The World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) advocates that infection prevention and control is the responsibility of all those involved in health services delivery and should be embedded into everyday practice.  This relates to health service acquired infections and those that result from other sources, not just those that are considered high-risk infectious diseases. Early diagnosis, along with strategies to manage and contain infections, is essential for the wellbeing of patients/clients and all health professionals. 

Emerging antimicrobial resistance among hospital pathogens has typically become endemic, but clustered outbreaks certain occur.  Detailed microbial descriptions and pathogen epidemiology by reference laboratories, such as the WRAIR’s Multi-Drug Organism Resistance and Surveillance Network (MRSN), are well established. An Infectious disease whose occurrence has increased in the past years or threatens to increase is termed as emerging. These diseases include new infections, previously unrecognized infections and old infections reappearing due to antimicrobial resistance, public health issues and unhygienic conditions.

As complications from infection are a major cause of morbidity and mortality following transplantation, infection prevention is a cornerstone of any modern solid organ transplantation program. This topic is not a thorough analysis of all studies examining the prevention of infection following organ transplantation, but a practical guide to widely accepted recommendations regarding the prevention of common infections in the transplant setting, such as bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis viruses or invasive fungal infections.

The FDA is renowned for its work in regulating the development of new drugs. The FDA has developed rules regarding the clinical trials that must be done on all new drugs. Currently, pharmaceutical companies must test drugs through four phases of clinical trials before they can be marketed to individuals.  Resubmission of failed applications is costly, delaying marketing approval and the availability of new drugs to patients. The full economic impact analyses of significant FDA regulations are no longer published in the Federal Register but are available on this site.

Pediatric infections/ childhood infections are the infections which are caused in children of different age groups. Pediatric infections specialist’s takes care of the infections occurring in children and the treatment methods vary for children from adults. 11 million children deaths every year are attributable to six causes: diarrhoea, malaria, neonatal infection, pneumonia, preterm delivery, or lack of oxygen at birth. Some of the deaths occur from illnesses like measles, malaria or tetanus. Others result indirectly from marginalization, conflict and HIV/AIDS. Global burden of Pediatric mortality is increasing drastically every year. 

Consistency and streamlined processes are critical to infection control and prevention. Solutions for reducing hospital-acquired infections must be intuitive, efficient and easy to implement. Our infection prevention portfolio includes products to address: catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), surgical site infections (SSI), pneumonia prevention (HAP and VAP) and surface disinfection. infection rates are frequently calculated by dividing the number of infections acquired during a month by the number of patients discharged during that month. On the basis of the rate of infections per patient-day, it is possible to test for interhospital and intrahospital differences as well as for differences over time.

The influenza vaccine is less effective in the elderly. It is unknown whether influenza vaccination of nonelderly adults confers additional disease protection on the elderly population.  In a large, nationwide sample of Medicare beneficiaries, influenza vaccination among adults aged 18–64 years was inversely associated with illnesses related to influenza in the elderly. This year, the global market for products used in the fight against influenza will be worth an estimated $5.5 billion, according to a new technical market research report, the Global Influenza Market, from BCC Research. Market revenue is forecast to increase at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% from 2013 to 2018, totaling nearly $6 billion in 2018.

Smallpox is a serious, contagious, and sometimes fatal infectious disease. There is no proven treatment for smallpox disease. Prevention is achieved through vaccination. For purposes of controlling a smallpox outbreak, smallpox vaccine and antivirals can be used. Chikungunya is a febrile infection that resembles dengue which occurs especially in parts of Africa, India and South Eastern Asia caused by a toga virus of the genus aphavirus (species chikungunya virus) and transmitted by mosquitoes especially of the genus aedes.

The infections caused by germs and which may infect any part of the body are called infectious diseases. They can be spread by any means where there is a germ. They are caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, virus, parasites and fungi. Germs can be spread by direct or indirect contact. Vaccination, maintenance of proper hygiene and medicines help in the prevention of infection. The infection control market in cancer therapy is expected to have a huge growth potential in next few years.  Additionally, growing healthcare awareness among the population and poor sanitation conditions in underdeveloped countries further expected to boost the market.

Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is almost always fatal following the onset of clinical signs. In up to 99% of human cases, the rabies virus is transmitted by domestic dogs. Rabies affects domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through bites or scratches, usually via saliva. .Ebola viral infection is caused by virus transmitted through body fluids and through air. It occurs rarely but it is very deadly which results in death and outbreak. Ebola virus disease symptoms are very severe which appears in 2-3 days. Ebola primary symptoms include fever, sore throat, muscular pain and headaches then followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, decreased function of the liver and kidneys then loss of blood internally and externally finally leading to low blood pressure and fluid loss resulting in death.

Infections in a mother-to-be can sometimes lead to birth defects in her unborn child. Maintaining proper hygiene and taking a few extra precautions can sometimes mean the difference between a healthy, happy baby and a life-threatening illness. Use of intermittent preventative treatment in pregnancy and using nets resulted in an estimated 94,000 new born deaths being averted between 2009 and 2012 in 25 African countries. If these interventions had been applied to 80% of the at-risk population, it is estimated that 300,000 deaths could have been prevented.

Animal infections/ zoonosis are important threat to human health since the emergence of human diseases is dominated by zoonotic pathogens. Infectious diseases affect livestock and also wild animals focusing on characterizing the conditions for the pathogen spread and maintenance in the host population. Scientist’s assessment about the zoonotic diseases are that more than 8 out of every 12 known infectious diseases in humans are spread from faunas, and 4 out of every 5 new or emerging infectious diseases in people are spread from faunas. Yearly, estimated, thousands of Americans gets sick from diseases spread between faunas and humans. Because of this, the national health agency works 24/7 to protect people from zoonotic diseases.

Public awareness refers to the important role that community enthusiasm and knowledge has in building sustainable societies. Delivering knowledge to remote communities requires strategies for effective communication regarding infections prevention and control and maintenance of good hygienic conditions by creating healthy environment and infection free world. The growing aging population, with associated rise in the incidence of chronic diseases have also led to an increased demand of infection control products. However, factors such as stringent regulatory requirements and the need to comply with them may restrain the growth of infection control market to a certain extent.

Surgical Infections provides comprehensive and authoritative information on the biology, prevention, and management of post-operative infections. Original articles cover the latest advancements, new therapeutic management strategies, and translational research that is being applied to improve clinical outcomes and successfully treat post-operative infections. The Global Surgical and Infection Control Device market has experienced significant growth during the last five years and is expected to continue its growth momentum, reaching approximately US $84 billion in 2017 with a CAGR of 6.6% over the next five years.

 Respiratory tract infections are the infections which are observed in the respiratory tract ad they are further classified as upper respiratory tract infections and lower respiratory tract infections. Pulmonary infections are mostly observed in lungs which in turn causes acute bronchitis or pneumonia which are often caused by viruses but also can be caused by bacteria or fungal organisms. In COPD patients requiring intubation and invasive MV for hypercapnic respiratory failure, which is exacerbated by pulmonary infection, early extubation followed by noninvasive MV initiated at the start of PIC window may decrease significantly the duration of invasive MV, the risk of VAP and hospital mortality.

Zika viral infection is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by aedes mosquitoes. People with zika virus disease can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and malaise or headache.  Malaria is a mosquito borne infection affecting humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans (a group of single celled microorganisms) belonging to the plasmodium type. Malaria symptoms typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting and headaches which can be observed in 10-15 after being bitten by mosquito. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, comaor and even death. Dengue is a debilitating viral infection of the tropics, transmitted by mosquitoes which inturn causes sudden fever and acute pains in the joints. 

UV disinfection is effective at wavelengths from 200 nm to 300 nm. The UVC radiation emitted has a strong bactericidal effect. It is absorbed by the DNA, destroys its structure and inactivates living cells. Microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, yeasts and fungi are rendered harmless within seconds by UV radiation. If the irradiance is high enough, UV disinfection is a reliable and environmentally-friendly method because chemicals need not be added. Moreover, the microorganisms cannot become resistant to UV radiation.

Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Sexually transmitted diseases/ sexually transmitted infections are the infections which are transmitted through sexual contact with an infected individual and also transmitted during vaginal or other types of sexual intercourse including oral and anal sex. In many countries, basic STI services are in disarray as programme resources are determined by decisions relating to a single disease entity. Major HIV epidemics emerged from and spread rapidly under conditions of poor STI control, and further weakening of STI control may well undermine other HIV prevention efforts.

Plant diseases have caused severe losses to humans in several ways. Starvation and uprooting of families resulted from the Irish famine caused by potato late blight. A valued resource was lost with the virtual elimination of the American chestnut by chestnut blight (caused by Cryphonectria parasitica). And direct economic loss such as the estimated one billion dollars lost in one year to American corn growers from southern corn leaf blight. Many plant diseases cause less dramatic losses annually throughout the world but collectively constitute sizable losses to farmers and can reduce the aesthetic values of landscape plants and home gardens.