Healthcare-associated infections and infectious diseases in emergency care

As populations grow worldwide so do challenges for the control and prevention of infectious diseases and healthcare associated infections (HAis). Generally speaking, infectious diseases are diseases where the causative agent passes or is carried from one person or organism to another, albeit directly or indirectly. As a rule, HAis are infections that are acquired in healthcare facilities ('nosocomial' infections) or are infections occurring as a result of healthcare interventions ('iatrogenic' infections), which may become evident after people leave the healthcare facility.1 ·2 A variety of like and related definitions exist which are determined by, among other things, the setting or context in which they occur. Community-acquired infections are those acquired and detected within 48 hours of hospital admission in patients without previous contact with a healthcare facility. 3 A hospital-acquired infection is a localised or systemic condition resulting from an adverse reaction to the presence of an infectious agent(s) or its toxin(s), and was present 48 hours or more after hospital admission and not incubating at hospital admission time. 3- 5 The clinical and epidemiological term HAis are those infections detected within 48 hours of hospital admission in patients who had previous contact with a healthcare facility within 1 year.4