Infection control practises a must to keep ‘superbugs’ at bay
There is no “superbug” as it is only a creation of an unregulated environment, a top heart surgeon of an accredited hospital said here on Wednesday.
"There is no superbug — it is just a plasmid (genetic material) transfer that can go from any bacterium to another," Dr Ramakant Panda CEO Asian Heart Institute(AHI) told PTI while responding to the current outburst on the superbug and various discussions that have ensued therein.
Such genetic transfer happens in those hospitals where there is lack of appropriate infection control practices, which include unregulated use of anti-biotics, he said.
"There could be several superbugs as a result of plasmid transfer from one resistant bug to another, and hence eradication of multi-resistant organisms through proper infection control practices is the key to solution," medical director of AHI Dr D Silva said.
"Major multi-speciality hospitals also have to keep other high-infection, open wound conditions such as cancer and diabetes away from the other high-risk cases like cardiology and neurology so as not to let the infection spread," Silva said.
AHI has been the highest accredited hospital with certifications from Joint Commission International (JCI) and National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organisations (NIAHO), he said.
Therefore, to promote medical tourism in Indian hospitals, they must have JCI and NIAHO certification or any other equivalent certification, which the Health Ministry can recommend, Panda said.
Having infection control practices, screening all the incoming patients, appropriate antibiotic policies and hand wash policy will go a long way in boosting medical tourism in India, Panda added.
JCI and NIAHO certifications demand for an infection control department in the hospital that follows centre for disease Control, Atlanta, the US as this is the only universally recognised guideline and all prescriptions in the hospital should be approved by the Infectious Disease Specialist, Panda said.
These certifications also encourage use of first generation antibiotics. Silva said the community acquired germs are easily handled by first generation antibiotics. As a rule —only germs acquired in a resistant hospital environment survive against antibiotics. It is true that hospital acquired infections are difficult to treat, he added.
"Therefore, there should be a process wherein each patient who is transferred from one hospital to another is isolated first for sputum and nasal culture tests and first examined for infection, Silva said.
Panda also pointed out a simple hand wash and alcohol policy, with alcohol (hand sanitiser) placed at every bed in between two patients is the surest way to avoid infection between patients.
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