How to control HAIs

What Canada can learn from U.S. HAI data

While we are still processing the ways COVID-19 has transformed infection control approaches, there is no doubt that its impact reinforced the notion that prevention is preparedness. Nowhere is this mindset more relevant than when it comes to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), including antimicrobial-resistant organisms (AROs).1

New U.S. research released this past July from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may offer a helpful preview – and perhaps a head start for Canadian infection control specialists navigating the prevention of HAIs post 2019-2020.1,2

Resistant hospital-onset infections and deaths among seven pathogens increased 15% from 2019 to 20201

Key Findings from CDC Special Report 2022

According to the COVID-19: U.S. Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022 , the pandemic pushed back years of progress made combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It was reported that resistant HAIs increased at least 15% during the first year of the pandemic, and that AMR infections had gotten worse.1

Resistant HAIs are on the rise

The CDC report showed an increase in resistant HAIs from 2019 to 2020 among these seven pathogens:1

• Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter (↑78%)

• ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (↑32%)

• Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) (↑14%)

• Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (↑35%)

• Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (↑32%)

• Antifungal-resistant Candida (↑26%)

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (↑13%)

Controlling HAIs in Canada, protecting patient safety2-4

As many as 1 in 12 patients admitted to Canadian healthcare facilities, and 1 in 8 patients in an ICU, developed an HAI.4,5 HAIs in Canadian hospitals are prevalent. A recent study reported:

• antimicrobial-resistant organisms, while low in prevalence, are rising;6

• antimicrobial-resistant pathogens to watch are carbapenamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae and Candida auris ; and

• a rise in vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) infections over time may be linked to recent discontinuation of targeted VRE control strategies in some hospitals in Canada3,4

There is some good news – the 2021 Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Report found that there was a decrease in Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections.6-8 This decrease was attributed to:

• hand hygiene compliance3,8

• environmental cleaning 3,8; and

• antibiotic stewardship3

Environmental cleaning works: Up to 70% of HAIs are preventable7

Hard surface disinfection of immediate environments plays a major role in reducing HAIs7 – making CloroxPro® Canada your ideal go-to partner in disinfection. Our wide range of CloroxPro® disinfecting and sanitizing products can help you fight HAIs in your facility.

CloroxPro® disinfecting & sanitizing products demonstrate direct efficacy at killing pathogens of concern

The power to stop the spread of HAIs in Canada

CloroxPro® offers many Health Canada-approved products that are effective in killing the microorganisms that spread HAIs in your healthcare facility, particularly on hard, non-porous surfaces. Kill the microorganisms that can spread HAIs on your hardest to clean surfaces in as little as 30 seconds with CloroxPro®.

CloroxPro® can help

Our infection control specialists are equipped to review your current outbreak protocols, recommend products based on clinical evidence and customize your protocols to the needs of your facility.

To see the efficacy and kill times for specific bacteria, virus, fungi/VET and spores, visit https://www.cloroxpro.ca/products/clorox-healthcare/

DIN:02473151

DIN:02465671

DIN:02406225

References: 1. DC. COVID-19: U.S. Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2022. 2 . Boulanger V, etal Divergences between healthcare-associated infection administrative data and active surveillance data in Canada. CanCommunDisRep2022;48(1):4–16. 3. Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program. Healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance in Canadian acute care hospitals, 2014–2018. CanCommunDisRep2020;46(5):99–112. 4 . Johnstone, Jennie, etal . “Health Care-Associated Infections in Canadian Hospitals: Still a Major Problem.”

CanadianMedicalAssociationJournal , vol. 191, no. 36, 2019. 5. Mitchell, Robyn, etal . “Trends in Health Care–Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals in Canada: An Analysis of Repeated Point-Prevalence Surveys.” CanadianMedicalAssociationJournal vol. 191, no. 36, 2019. 6. Public Health Agency of Canada. CanadianAntimicrobialResistanceSurveillanceSystemReport:Protectingand EmpoweringCanadianstoImproveTheirHealth pp. 90. Published 2021. 7. MacLaurin, Anne, et al. “Measuring and Monitoring Healthcare-Associated Infections: A Canadian Collaboration to Better Understand the Magnitude of the Problem.” HealthcareQuarterly , vol. 22, no. SP, 2020, pp. 116–28. 8. Weiner-Lastinger, L., etal . ”The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on healthcare-associated infections in 2020: A summary of data reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network.” InfectionControl&HospitalEpidemiology , vol. 43 no. 1, 2022. pp 12-25.

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