EUCIC publishes its December Newsletter

The European Committee on Infection Control (EUCIC) publishes its second newsletter. The objective is to establish a continuous flow of information to all interested members of the clinical microbiology, hospital hygiene/infection control and infectious diseases community, regarding recent news, future activities and the evolution of the overall project. The December newsletter contains information about EUCIC's past and future activities.

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Initiatives at EUCIC and ESGAP on EAAD 18 November

The European Committee on Infection Control (EUCIC) and the ESCMID Study Group for Antibiotic Policies (ESGAP) organize a number of activities to promote prudent use of antibiotics in Europe. They include events at healthcare institutions and public campaigns on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), surveillance and antibiotic stewardship programmes in Moldova, Turkey, Spain, Cyprus and the Netherlands.

EUCIC supports the PERCEPT-R project: Perception of the antimicrobial resistance in Europe

Goal: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now recognised as a serious global threat. The control of AMR requires a national, international coordination across hospitals, region and borders on both the reduction/adaptation of antibiotic use and the implementation of specific precautions to avoid cross-transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO). Two neighbouring countries, regions or hospitals could differ in prevention of cross-transmission of MDRO with standard precautions for one and strict contact precautions for the other. Additionally, organisms are sometimes considered as a threat in some countries but not in others. For example, glycopeptide resistant Enterococci (GRE) are considered as a major problem in some countries with a strong control strategy based on “search and isolate” measures while they are not taken in consideration in other European countries. The framework of the infection control policy and the prevention of the antimicrobial resistance varies across different countries. The societal/cultural context and the administrative framework could play a role in the differences of national strategies. The study of infection control physicians (ICPs) perception regarding the antimicrobial resistance and infection control strategies in Europe may allow explaining the wider choice of strategies and giving helpful data to build efficient interventions and national infection control strategies. In this study, we aim to investigate the perception of infection control specialists regarding AMR and IPC in a panel of European countries, and the role played by the cultural, contextual and behavioral aspects on the prevention of AMR.

We are now reaching the last step. The website dedicated for the online survey has been modified several times. We will contact participants for the survey very soon. An update will be added when the study will be launched.

For more information see: https://www.researchgate.net/project/PERCEPT-R-PROJECT-Perception-of-the-antimicrobial-resistance-in-Europe

CMI Theme Issue December 2015 on infection control in Europe now available online

Looking at the components and implementation of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures in European hospitals, a mosaic is the first picture you could easily use to describe it state E. Tacconelli and N. Mutters in their editorial.
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