ABSTRACT
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) – also called ‘nosocomial infections’ – are recognized as a serious public health problem affecting both patients and healthcare workers (Lange et al . 2012 : 79-80). The term ‘nosocomial’ is derived from the Greek words nosos (sickness) and komien (treat), or nosokomeion (one who tends to the disease), and the Latin nosocomium , meaning hospital (Ellenberg 2004 ; Duneton et al . 1995 ). Because these narrow meanings do not acknowledge the variety of ways, settings, and environments in which modern healthcare is delivered (Lange et al . 2012 : 77-9), the expression now preferred is ‘healthcare-associated (or related) infections’. 1
Increased HAI rates near the end of the twentieth century 2 make these infections a growing concern for health organizations, public health authorities, the medical profession, and the broader community. Modern factors explaining the increased prevalence of HAIs include the overpopulation of hospitals, antibiotic prescription patterns, and an aging population. In addition, medical progress has introduced more invasive procedures that give access to infection, and has increased the survival rates of patients susceptible to a higher risk of infection, such as patients with major burns, organ or bone marrow transplant recipients, premature babies, and the elderly. Finally, new sources of HAIs include the effect of building construction on immunodepressed patients – a factor in the development of Legionnaires’ disease or aspergillosis – and the emergence of new bacteria with multiple antimicrobial resistance, such as methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) (Comité sur les infections nosocomiales du Québec (CINQ) 2004 : 7).
