Core components for effective infection prevention and control programmes: new WHO evidence-based recommendations

Abstract Health care-associated infections (HAI) are a major public health problem with a significant impact on morbidity, mortality and quality of life. They represent also an important economic burden to health systems worldwide. However, a large proportion of HAI are preventable through effective infection prevention and control (IPC) measures. Improvements in IPC at the national and facility level are critical for the successful containment of antimicrobial resistance and the prevention of HAI, including outbreaks of highly transmissible diseases through high quality care within the context of universal health coverage. Given the limited availability of IPC evidence-based guidance and standards, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to prioritize the development of global recommendations on the core components of effective IPC programmes both at the national and acute health care facility level, based on systematic literature reviews and expert consensus. The aim of the guideline development process was to identify the evidence and evaluate its quality, consider patient values and preferences, resource implications, and the feasibility and acceptability of the recommendations. As a result, 11 recommendations and three good practice statements are presented here, including a summary of the supporting evidence, and form the substance of a new WHO IPC guideline

A simple method for measuring zinc absorption in man using a short-lived isotope (69mZn).

Using a short-lived isotope of zinc (69mZn) with a half-life of 13.9 hr, we have developed a simple test of zinc absorption. After an oral dose of isotope (50 muCi) with 2 mg of elemental zinc a plasma appearance curve was constructed from radioactivity determined in blood samples taken sequentially over 8 hr. Two week later an iv dose of isotope (25 muCi) was administered and a plasma disappearance curve was constructed. Absorption was calculated by computer analysis of appearance and disappearance curves using a deconvolution programme. Mean absorption in five normal subjects was 61% (range 41 to 79%). In three subjects given food with, or 1 hr before the isotope, absorption was delayed and reduced to less than 20% of the oral dose at 8 hr. This test of zinc absorption is simple to perform and, because the isotope has a short half-life, has the advantage of subjecting patients to only limited radiation