Basic Infection Prevention Research Articles

Mobile Augmented Reality Hand Wash (MARHw): Mobile Application to guide community to ameliorate handwashing effectiveness to oppose Covid-19 disease

The global concern about a new pandemic associated with the insufficiency of vaccines has necessitated basic practices of handwashing to get prevention in Covid-19 disease in modern health issues. At this point, due to that, the researchers develop a simple mobile application engaging augmented reality to educate the urban and rural community on a notable effect of basic infection prevention practices peculiarly on hand wash guidance to prevent Covid-19infection. A quality of a hand wash could be attained by washing hands in conformity with health standard guidelines. In this study, we analyze a sample size of 83 participants (n=83), there were categorized by age, young adult (ages 15 to 35, n=28), middle-age (36 to 55, n=28) and older adults (older than 56 years, n=27) through three main formulated hypotheses namely as a step, movement, and duration and being analyzed by SPSS version 25by using Anova. The differences in demographics and gender are not being compared amongst the group. The final result underlying a statistical significance draws two significant factors for step and movement and there was no significant effect at the time factor of utilizing this mobile application. Hence, the final result could mitigate the Malaysian government sector peculiarly to the health department to alleviate the load of educating a community about a proper hand wash that would ease the process.

Health system quality in the time of COVID-19

Health system quality in the time of COVID-19

How do healthcare workers in diagnostic imaging minimise risks but maximise performance during the COVID-19 pandemic?

How do healthcare workers in diagnostic imaging minimise risks but maximise performance during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Strictly Adhering to Infection Control Practices is the Key to Safe Surgical Procedures Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis

Currently, the world is facing a challenge to curb the outbreak of the highly contagious COviD-19, which has significantly impacted many lives and is affecting the practice of healthcare professionals as well. During this containment phase, an influx of COVID-19 patients requiring surgical interventions is expected. To combat the situation, every health care staff must implement and adhere to various infection prevention and control measures. In this article, we have addressed the importance of basic infection prevention and control practices required for handling COVID-19 cases, especially, those requiring acute surgical care. On one hand, certain non-emergency procedures need to be delayed, on the other hand, all surgeries during this period need to be proactively performed with appropriate infection control precautions regardless of the COVID-19 status of the patient. Prudent decisions and a conservative approach while making the best choices regarding surgeries will not only ensure personal protection but will also preserve important resources, manpower, hospital beds, and equipment for repurposing during this urgent crisis.

GLOBAL RESPIRATORY ILLNESS OUTBREAK COVID-19 AND ITS GLOBAL CONSEQUENCES: AN OVERVIEW

Global Respiratory illness outbreak COVID-19 is a new public health crisis threatening humanity across the globe with the emergence and spread from central China in late 2019. The virus originated around Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019 in bats and was transmitted through unknown intermediary sources to humans. The clinical presentation of viral infection ranges from asymptomatic to severe pneumonia with acute pulmonary distress syndrome is designated as COVID-19. WHO has characterized the disease as a pandemic due to its severity, as well as the shifting of epidemic zones across the globe from epicentre zone, China through a different stage of transmission by contact or inhalation with infected droplets and the incubation period, varies between 2 - 14 days. Treatment is essentially supportive; the effective role of antiviral agents is yet to be established and secondly without knowing the entire genome sequence of COVID- 19, no drug or vaccine can be effectively administered. Prevention entails home isolation of suspected cases and those with mild illnesses and strict infection control measures at hospitals that include contact and droplet precautions. The highest risk of healthcare-associated transmission is in the absence of standard precautions, when basic infection prevention and control measures for respiratory infections are not in place, and when handling patients where COVID infection is yet to be confirmed. The pandemic acceleration of COVID-19 indicates that the initial sporadic spreading worst hit the epicentre, China. But later on, epidemic zone shifts to nearly all continents. Several countries are experiencing sustained local transmission, including Europe and America at the end of February 2020. Current status indicates that confirmed and death cases pattern is rapidly varied among the different continents and emerged as an alarming health crisis of the nd Era in countries like Italy, Spain, U.K, Iran, and the USA. Although India is now in the 2 stage of transmission and too rd far from the 3 stage but till government has already taken deceive control measures. At the same time some of the Asian countries like South Korea, Japan has been reporting a slowdown in the growth of COVID-19 cases due to adoption concept of "Testing is central" to outbreak response that leads to early detection to minimizes further spread. The proportion of asymptomatic cases is currently unknown and hampers the realistic assessment of the virus epidemic potential and complicates the outbreak response. WHO has already announced a large global trial, called SOLIDARITY th on 27 March 2020 which is focusing on the most promising panacea therapies including remdesivir; chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine; a combination of two HIV drugs, lopinavir, and ritonavir; and that same combination plus interferon-beta. The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has already brought considerable human suffering and major economic disruption. In the current scenario, the exact global impact and extension of COVID 19 pandemic acceleration nd rd and reoccurrences of 2 and 3 waves are yet uncertain in globally. Therefore the corona pandemic is unprecedented in its global impact and reach, posing alarming challenges to policymakers, researchers and health workers.

Novel coronavirus: A capsule review for primary care and acute care physicians.

Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new emerging infectious agent causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since the reporting of early cases of COVID-19 from China on December 29, 2019 till March 15, 2020, it has affected 1,42,539 humans in 135 countries, including 82 cases in India. As it is a difficult task for first-contact physicians, i.e. primary care and acute care physicians, to comprehend the fast-growing knowledge about nCoV and apply for prevention and care of suspected cases of COVID-19, we have tried to provide an updated capsule review of nCoV infection and management of COVID-19. It includes the evidence-based information on epidemiological determinants (agent, host, and environment) of the disease, its clinical features, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, basic infection prevention and control measures, and clinical management of COVID-19 cases. This review also includes the succinct summary of World Health Organization and Center for Diseases Control and Prevention interim guidelines (as of March 15, 2020) on nCoV.

Coronavirus Disease-19 Outbreak: Barriers to Hand Hygiene Practices Among Healthcare Professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND: Hand hygiene practice entails hand washing, which is simple, cost-effective, and one of the first lines of defense in ceasing the spread of the current pandemic. This narrative review of published studies is conducted to highlight factors impacting hand hygiene practice and identify evidence-based strategies for improvement in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: The literature search strategy covered printed and online sources, including manual library search (PubMed), Embase, Medline, and Cochrane Library. For papers written in English and published in the last ten years. A systematic analysis of available data was subsequently performed based on the review questions. RESULTS: An estimated 134 articles were found online, and thirty-two articles utilized in the final analysis. Overall, hand hygiene betides with low compliance rates in developing countries. The calculated compliance rate was 20.49%. The challenges identified were the poverty of awareness and scientific knowledge concerning hand hygiene, infrastructural deficit including lack of access to clean and potable water, soap, hand rub gel, misconceptions regarding hand hygiene practice, etc. CONCLUSION: Healthcare-associated infections draw increasing attention from all and sundry due to the growing recognition that most of these are preventable. Free evidence-based practice suggests that strict adherence to hand hygiene reduces the risk of cross-transmission of infections and especially in the COVID-19 pandemic era. The challenges identified in this review are consistent with the findings of studies conducted elsewhere. With “Clean Care is Safer Care” as a prime list of the World Health Organization’s global initiative on patient safety programs; therefore, it is high time for developing countries to formulate the much-needed policies for implementing basic infection prevention practices in our healthcare settings.

Knowledge and practice of hand hygiene among patients' relatives in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) Jos-Nigeria.

Background: Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are drawing increasing attention from patients, care-givers, government and regulatory bodies. This is not only because of the problem in terms of the associated morbidity, mortality and cost of treatment but also due to the growing recognition that most of these are preventable. Justification: The medical community is witnessing an unprecedented advancement of infections transmission. There is now undisputed evidence that strict adherence to hand hygiene reduces the potential risk of cross-transmission of infection among patients to their relations and even to the medical practitioners. Aim and objectives: The study creates awareness among patients and relatives towards reducing cross infection in tertiary hospital in Jos. Methodology: The study used a survey method to assess the patients’ relations in Jos University teaching Hospital (JUTH) using 345 volunteers. Responses on 12 variables were assessed and analyzed using SPSS 21. Result: 162 (47.o %) males and 183 (53.0%) female relatives participated. 234 (67.2%) of the patients relative are from the age of 40 years and below. 200 (58.0%) participants are urban dwellers, 140 (40.6%) rural dwellers and only 5 (1.4%) did not indicate their location. Educational background shows that 18 (5.2%) of patient’s relations are illiterate, 34 (9.9%) attended at least primary school while 116 (33.6%) have attended secondary school level and about 177 (51.3%) have attended up to tertiary education. Knowledge of Hospital acquired infections gave 284 (82.3%) Yes and 61 (17.7%) had not heard of HAIs. On the knowledge of pathogens transmission 296 (85.8%) said Yes and (13.6%) had no knowledge of it. On the knowledge of hand hygiene, 297 (86.1%) were aware and 48 (13.9%) did not. Before leaving the Hospital, 110 (31.9%) do wash hands, 235 (68.1%) do not wash their hands. After leaving the hospital, 95 (22.9%) do wash hand always, 182 (52.8%) sometimes and 68 (19.7%) do not care about washing hands. Patient relations washed their hands, 107 (31.0%) using water only, 210 (60.9%) used soap and water, 10 (2.9%) used ashes and water and 18 (5.2%) used sanitizer. Unfortunately, 17 (4.9%) do not have time to wash hands, to 11 (3.2%) washing hands was not necessary, 57 (16.5%) did forget and 45 (13.0%) hands always look clean but 119 (34.5%) do not have provisions for hand hygiene. Conclusion: The study supports the agenda of the world health organization (WHO) on patient and their relations safety programs, it is high time that developing countries including Nigeria formulated the much-needed policies for implementation of basic infection prevention practices in healthcare set-ups such as hand hygiene policy starting from Jos University Teaching Hospital.

Global commercial passenger airlines and travel health information regarding infection control and the prevention of infectious disease: What's in a website?

BackgroundAir travel has never been easier, cheaper or faster, with large volumes of people travelling around the world. These factors increase the risk of the spread of infectious diseases by air travel. Little is known, however, about the extent to which airlines provide information to passengers on infection control and measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. This study examined the websites of the global commercial passenger airlines to see if they contained information about infection control and prevention of infectious diseases and appraised the clinical usefulness of that information.MethodA cross-sectional text-based analysis of the 73 airline websites from the six global commercial passenger airline conglomerates was performed to identify information about infection control and prevention of infectious between July and August 2019.ResultsOf the 73 airline websites, less than half (n = 35, 28.6%) contained information deemed useful for passengers. While there was a range of general health advice within the websites, there was limited information about infection control and preventing infectious diseases. A minority of websites contained information about vaccination status prior to travel, and to a lesser extent handwashing and hand hygiene, with very few including disease-specific advice or preventive measures.ConclusionsAirline websites are an underutilised source of information for infection control and the prevention of infectious diseases. Providing passengers with information on basic infection control and prevention measures may support the global efforts against the spread of infectious diseases.

Front-line education by infection preventionists helps reduce Clostridioides difficile infections

When implementing the latest innovations to reduce health care-associated infections, it is important not to overlook basic infection prevention principles such as hand hygiene, isolation precautions, use of personal protective equipment, and cleaning and low-level disinfection. Like many facilities, we implemented a multifaceted approach to reduce hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infections. In this paper, we share simple tools that we found helpful in improving infection prevention practices by addressing knowledge gaps among staff, visitors, and patients.

Leading an Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative Through a Quality Improvement Collaborative Among 22 Hospitals in a Lower Middle Income Country

BACKGROUND The emergence of colistin resistant Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE's) within a period of 4 months caused a team of professionals to raise the alarm. In a country lacking standardized microbiological testing, no restriction on antibiotics usage and having basic infection prevention programs, there was a need to address antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) nationally. The success of one tertiary hospital in building an AMS program resulted in a national initiative for 22 hospitals. METHODS The AMS program design included a driver diagram for the hospitals covering a catchment area of approximately 80% of the total population. A multidisciplinary team of 5 members from each hospital was responsible for implementing the activities which included; standardization of microbiological testing through hands-on workshops utilizing the American Society for Microbiology and the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Developing evidence based national guidelines for infections and empiric treatment and building the capacity of clinical pharmacists, medical doctors, infection control coordinators through shadowing of the AMS core team at the tertiary hospital. A data collection sheet was developed using Microsoft Access to collect data about antibiotics Days of Therapy (DoT) in line with CDC guidelines to evaluate improvements. RESULTS The effect of the AMS program was noted by a statistically significant drop in the restricted antibiotics DoT ranging between 23-74% in the vancomycin, colistin and carbapenems usage (p CONCLUSIONS The achievements of AMS interventions with minimal resources can be used as a model for regional countries in the fight against the spread of resistant bacteria.

Antimicrobial resistance in nephrology.

The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among many common bacterial pathogens is increasing. The emergence and global dissemination of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) is fuelled by antibiotic selection pressure, inter-organism transmission of resistance determinants, suboptimal infection prevention practices and increasing ease and frequency of international travel, among other factors. Patients with chronic kidney disease, particularly those with end-stage renal disease who require dialysis and/or kidney transplantation, have some of the highest rates of colonization and infection with ARB worldwide. These ARB include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp. and several multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms. Antimicrobial resistance limits treatment options and increases the risk of infection-related morbidity and mortality. Several new antibiotic agents with activity against some of the most common ARB have been developed, but resistance to these agents is already emerging and highlights the dire need for new treatment options as well as consistent implementation and improvement of basic infection prevention practices. Clinicians involved in the care of patients with renal disease must be familiar with the local epidemiology ofARB, remain vigilant for the emergence of novel resistance patterns and adhere strictly to practices proven to prevent transmission of ARB and other pathogens.

Successful control of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak in a burn intensive care unit by addition of universal decolonization with intranasal mupirocin to basic infection prevention measures

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is frequently implicated in health care-associated outbreaks in burn intensive care units, incurring substantial morbidity and mortality to these high-risk patients and excess costs to health care systems. MRSA health care-associated infections (HAIs) were noted before and after the implementation of basic infection prevention measures and the subsequent implementation of universal decolonization with intranasal mupirocin. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to determine the relatedness of clinical isolates. A case-control study was conducted to characterize the risk factors for MRSA HAIs. Basic interventions failed to decrease the rate of MRSA HAIs, although compliance with these interventions was high throughout the study. MRSA HAIs decreased from 8.53 HAIs per 1,000 patient days before the implementation of intranasal mupirocin to 3.61 HAIs per 1,000 patient days after the implementation of intranasal mupirocin (P = .033). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis disclosed 10 unique clones with no large clusters. The case-control study revealed a significant association between MRSA HAIs and lengths of stay, body surface area burned, intubation, pressor requirement, leukocytosis, lactic acidosis, development of pneumonia, MRSA colonization, and death. Basic environmental and behavioral interventions fell short of controlling a low-count, sporadic, and multiclonal MRSA outbreak in the burn intensive care unit of a tertiary medical center. However, the added implementation of universal decolonization with intranasal mupirocin was effective. Burn victims with greater disease severity were at higher risk for MRSA HAIs.

Interpretation and clinical practice of regulation for prevention and control of healthcare associated infection in outpatient and emergency department in healthcare facilities.

Healthcare associated infection (HAI) control and prevention is the important component of medical safety. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are the core forces for implementing good HAI control and prevention. Several cases of outbreaks occurred in outpatient and emergency department (OED) strengthened the importance of infection control and prevention. Recently, the "Regulation for prevention and control of HAI in outpatient and emergency department in healthcare facilities" was released by National health Commission of the People's Republic of China on May 10, 2018 and was going to implement on Nov 1, 2018. This regulation stipulates basic infection prevention requirements for safe care in OED of healthcare facilities. In this article, we would provide the interpretation and clinical practice of regulation for prevention and control of HAI in outpatient and emergency department in healthcare facilities and give a summary introduction.

385. The Value Added From Candida auris Point Prevalence and Environmental Studies in New York State

BackgroundAs of March 25 2018, 151 clinical cases of C. auris were diagnosed in NYS. We conducted point prevalence surveys (PPS) and environmental surveys (ES) to detect surveillance cases and assess the burden of environmental contamination in NYS healthcare facilities from September 12, 2016.MethodsA PPS was defined as culturing ≥2 individuals at a healthcare facility that diagnosed, cared for, or was near a facility with a C. auris case. ES involved environmental swabbing in facilities where cases resided or were admitted. Cultures and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed at the NYS Wadsworth Center.ResultsAs of March 25, 2018, 81 PPS or ES had been conducted at 55 facilities. From these PPS, a total of 144 (6.1%) individuals were positive for C. auris by culture; 125 were PCR positive. The rates of culture positive C. auris identified patients varied by facility type: hospitals (38/767, 5.0%), long-term care facilities (LTCF) (88/1,404, 6.3%), long-term acute care (1/35, 2.9%), and co-located hospital and LTCF (17/138, 12.3%). The majority of the LTCF C. auris culture-positive cases (80/82) were identified in facilities that cared for ventilated patients. Rates in LTCF caring for ventilated patients were nearly 10 times as high as other LTCF [86/1,121 (7.7%) vs. 2/284 (0.7%)]. ES identified 86 (3.0%) samples positive by culture and 257 (8.9%) by PCR. Thirty-seven (67%) of the 55 facilities had at least one positive environmental sample by PCR or culture; many of these positive samples were from surfaces or equipment deemed to be “clean.” Over 1,900 person-hours were needed to conduct onsite PPS and ES that collected >4,200 human and >2,800 environmental samples and identified opportunities for improving basic infection prevention and environmental cleaning. Ten facilities, including the co-located hospital and LTCF, had multiple positive PPS or ES.ConclusionPPS conducted over 17 months detected many colonized individuals and C. auris in facility environments, likely indicating a silent reservoir for this organism beyond clinical cases, especially in LTCFs. Serial PPS and ES can help improve C. auris detection and inform subsequent infection prevention and control interventions. However, these efforts are resource intensive and can divert resources from other activities.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Medical Ultrasound Disinfection and Hygiene Practices: WFUMB Global Survey Results

As ultrasound technology rapidly evolves and is used more frequently in every area of medical diagnosis and treatment, it may be overlooked as a potential vector in the transmission of a health care-associated infection. A survey on disinfection and hygiene practice in medical ultrasound was disseminated via the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) to its six member federations and associated ultrasound societies globally. One thousand twenty-nine responses were obtained across a broad range of ultrasound practitioners. A total of 76% of respondents used transducer covers every time to scan open wounds and 71% when blood and bodily fluids were present or for an interventional procedure. Approved high-level disinfectants are not always used, even when blood comes into contact with the transducer or after endocavity scans. Alcohol-based wipes were used by many respondents to clean both external transducers and endocavity transducers. Open-ended responses indicated that a large caseload hindered the time required for cleaning and that access to clear guidelines would be beneficial. Global survey results indicate that some users do not comply with disinfection practice, and there is a gap in knowledge on basic infection prevention and control education within the ultrasound unit. As the infectious status of a patient is not often disclosed prior to an ultrasound examination, training in suitable protocols for the cleaning and disinfection of ultrasound equipment is imperative to mitigate the risk of potential infection.

Vaccine Development Strategies, Progresses and Challenges for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): A Review

Human immunodeficiency virus is classified under the Retroviridae family and identified as a causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).Since Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is identified as causative agent of AIDS, about 39 million people have been died and 78 million people have been infected worldwide. Despite tremendous efforts are being made to develop successful diagnosis, treatment and prevention methods, and to develop HIV vaccine the effort remains great challenge for researchers, due to extreme genetic variability of the virus. Even though vaccination of HIV is the most promising, cost effective and feasible intervention strategy to control and eradicate HIV disease route and transmission, still now we are struggling to find an elusive vaccine after thirty years and disappointing results are recorded from previous clinical trials, except the promising RV144 HIV vaccine which is phase III clinical trial with the modest vaccine efficacy. The contribution of this study is to reveal the challenges to found potent HIV vaccine during the last decades, significant lessons learnt about the basic virology, pathogenesis, immunology, HIV/AIDS treatment and HIV infection prevention and significant findings and clinical trials progresses which are currently open the way to some extent to hope that HIV vaccine development is possible.

Management of multi-drug resistant organisms in healthcare settings

Antimicrobial resistance is an important global threat to public health. Hospitals, in particular, are increasingly faced with the emergence and transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). In hospitals, MDROs are transmitted via the hands of healthcare workers, from the contaminated environment, or directly from person to person. Although the transmission of MDROs is frequently recognized in acute care facilities, all healthcare settings are affected by MDROs. Given the evolving epidemiology of MDROs and the complexity of managing them across heterogeneous healthcare settings, multimodal strategies should be adopted to control and prevent the transmission of MDROs. It is fundamental to ensure adherence to evidence-based healthcare-associated infection prevention strategies, including hand hygiene, antimicrobial stewardship, and adequate environmental cleaning, and to ensure the reliable performance of basic infection prevention practices known to mitigate the transmission of MDROs. Healthcare-associated infections and MDROs should be surveilled in a standardized manner in order to detect outbreaks and newly introduced MDROs in healthcare facilities. When epidemiologically important pathogens newly emerge in healthcare facilities or to control outbreaks of specific pathogens, active surveillance cultures combined with preemptive isolation and contact precautions can also be implemented. Healthcare facilities should make sure that appropriate strategies are fully implemented, regularly evaluated for effectiveness, and adjusted as needed. Successful prevention and control of MDROs can be accomplished by administrative leadership, financial and human resource commitments by individual healthcare facilities, and continuous governmental efforts to make resources available for infection prevention and control.

Blood/Body Fluid Exposure and Needle Stick/Sharp Injury among Nurses Working in Public Hospitals; Southwest Ethiopia.

Every health professional around the world is at risk of blood/body fluid exposure and needle stick/sharp injury as a result of exposure to blood or body fluids and needle or sharp injuries. However, the extent of these hazards and their driving forces are not well documented in Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess determinants of blood/body fluid exposure and needle stick/sharp injury among nurses working in Jimma zone, southwest Ethiopia. An institution-based census was conducted among 318 nurses working in Jimma zone public hospitals from March 10 to 30, 2016. Data were collected by using pretested self-administered questionnaire. Epi info and SPSS were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Descriptive statistics were done. Bivariate and inter multivariate logistic regression analysis was also carried out to identify predictors of occupational hazards. The overall prevalence of blood/body fluid exposure and needle stick/sharp injury was found to be 249 (78.3%). Blood/body fluid exposure and needle stick/sharp injury incidents were reported by 62.6 and 58.8% of respondents, respectively. Majority of the hazards occurred during morning shift. Being male [AOR: 2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09, 4.4], being single (AOR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.09, 4.69), and having no training on infection prevention (AOR: 5.99, 95% CI: 3.14, 11.41) were positively associated with blood/body fluid exposure and needle stick/sharp injury; while working in chronic illness follow-up clinic (AOR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.71) showed negative association at p value of 0.05. Prevalence of blood/body fluid exposure and needle stick/sharp injury was high among the nurses. The safety of nurses depends directly on the degree to which nurses can identify and control the varied occupational hazards specific to jobs. Thus, working unit specific safety precautions and basic infection prevention in-service training might improve nurses' safety practice and thereby decrease the on job hazard.

La importancia del control y prevención de enfermedades infecciosas en anestesiología

The key role of the field of infectious diseases in other medical specialties, including anesthesiology, is currently well known. The anesthesiologist faces a potential risk of contributing to the development of healthcare associated infections in the operating room; however, the infectious complications derived from anesthesia have been underestimated. It is important to acknowledge that there are some deficiencies in research, notification, and publication of reports on anesthesia-associated infectious events in developing countries, particularly in Colombia, which is the focus of our attention in this article. As far as we know, only 5countries (most of them developed) have carried out studies on the practices and knowledge of the anesthesiology personnel with regards to universal recommendations for the prevention and control of anesthesia-associated infections. This document discusses the importance of infections in the area of anesthesiology and at present in Colombia. Furthermore, the need to comply with basic infection prevention and control precautions and of creating awareness of safe injection practices is recognized.