CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
Nosocomial infection also known as Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI) is a localized or systemic infection acquired in a hospital or any other health care facility by a patient admitted for a reason other than the pathology present during admission. It may also include an infection acquired in a healthcare facility that may manifest 48 hours after the patient’s admission into the health care facility or discharge (Hildron, Edwards, Patel, Horan, Sievert, Pollock & Fridkin, 2008). Epidemiological studies report that nosocomial infections are caused by pervasive pathogens such as bacteria (Lepelletier, Perron, Bizouarn, Caillon, Drugeon, Michaud & Duveau, 2005), viruses (De-Oliveira, White, Leschinsky, Beecham, Vogt, Moolenaar, Perz & Safranek, 2005) and fungi present in air, surfaces or equipment. The pathogens are not present or incubating prior to the patient’s admission into healthcare facility and are most likely transmitted by direct person-to-person contact during invasive medical procedures (Anderson, Kaye, Chen, Schmader, Choi, Sloan & Sexton, 2009). Some of the pathogens are highly resistant to antimicrobial agents, andthis necessitates the prescription of more potent and costly antimicrobial agents (Mulvey & Simor,2009).
Nosocomial infections are prevalent nationally and internationally; and occur in patients of all age groups: neonates (Aly, Herson, Duncan, Herr, Bender, Patel & EI-Mohandes, 2005), immuno-compromised adults and the elderly (Lepelletier, Perron, Bizouarn, Caillon, Drugeon, Michaud& Duveau, 2005). The most frequent types of nosocomial infections are those associated with the urinary tract, surgical wounds, respiratory tract and blood stream (Lo, 2008). It is a serious global public health issue, causing the suffering of 1.4 million people across the world at any given time (WHO, 2007).
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MEASURES UTILIZED FOR PREVENTION OF NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION IN THE LABOUR WARD OF UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR TEACHING HOSPITAL (UCTH), CALABAR.
