What is infection control and why is it important during the emergence of Omicron variant

Disinfectants

January 11, 2022 admin

What is infection prevention and control?

Infection prevention and control is a sub-discipline of epidemiology focusing on reducing healthcare-associated infections, or diseases contracted when visiting clinics and hospitals. [1]

Defeating Omicron: Defending Employees Against the New COVID-19 Variant:

The COVID-19 epidemic continues to pose a threat to populations across the world. Which is why more employers are trying their best to protect their employees from infection. When it comes to COVID, all it takes is one individual to contract the virus and expose your entire organization to an outbreak.

The advent of Omicron, the latest, extremely contagious, and up to some extent vaccine-resistant COVID strain, has further added to the confusion. Although it may appear frightening at first, there are steps you can take to mitigate the possible impact of this new form. It all starts with a better awareness regarding what you’re up against, as it does with most infections. With the development of the extremely contagious omicron variety, it is critical that healthcare organizations take all necessary precautions to ensure that their facilities, patients, and employees are safe from an outbreak.

According to the CDC there are 3 possible modes of person to person transfer of Covid-19:

1)Inhalation of the virus, 2)Deposition of the virus on exposed mucous membranes, and 3)Touching mucous membranes with filthy virus-contaminated hands [2]

Keeping this in mind, let’s discuss some techniques to limit the spread of omicron. Here are a few of the most effective strategies for avoiding virus transmission from person to person in healthcare settings, as well as factories and offices in other industries.

Emphasis on cleaning and disinfection procedures:

Stricter cleaning and disinfection routines have traditionally been extremely effective for infection prevention. Surface and environmental disinfectants can play a crucial role in limiting the spread of new COVID-19 variations. Cleaning along with the disinfectant application should be repeated several times a day. High-traffic and high-touch places, such as reception desks, lobbies, break rooms, bathrooms, and high-density workspaces, should be prioritized. Surface disinfectants with a longer duration of protection are used.

Emphasis on Hand hygiene:

Encouraging your staff to use COVID appropriate procedures in the workplace may be the most effective way to safeguard their safety. Hand hygiene has long been an important part of infection prevention. Even before COVID-19, washing and sanitizing one’s hands on a regular basis has always been a good strategy to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria. Hand sanitizing stations and associated signage are the most effective way to remind staff about proper hand hygiene habits. Individual hand sanitizer bottles are good, but hand hygiene stations with liquid dispensers are better for high-volume, continuous use.

Emphasis on use of personal protective equipment:

Encourage the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) where appropriate to safeguard your personnel from COVID-19 variant transmission.

Personal protection equipment (PPE) is worn by health care workers to reduce their exposure to infectious germs and dangerous materials in the clinical setting. Personal protection equipment, including gloves, gowns, and eye and mouth protection, are used in conjunction with basic precautions such as hand cleanliness when caring for patients with infectious illnesses. PPE is the first line of defense for health care workers. Personal protection equipment must be worn by medical staff who come into touch with infected patients to form a barrier between the worker and the infectious material. PPE can range from simple to sophisticated depending on the severity of the risk. The Centers for Disease Control’s Guidance for the Selection and Use of Personal Protective Equipment suggests

Hands should be protected with disposable gloves.
Skin and clothing should be protected by gowns and apron
The mouth, nose, and respiratory tract are all protected by masks and respirators.
Face shields, goggles, and face shields protect the face, mouth, nose, and eyes. [3]

Testing Availability, Contact Tracing and Health Monitoring Controls:

Encourage your personnel to keep track of their own health. When an employee develops a common cold or flu-like symptoms, or gets exposed to the disease, testing should be conducted. Easy access to COVID-19 testing will motivate your employees to verify their status whenever they feel threatened.

Contact tracing and health monitoring techniques are another way to keep your staff safe. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, most businesses have followed the CDC’s advice to check temperatures every day. There are now more advanced means of monitoring your employees’ health and preventing COVID-19 transmission. Businesses of all sizes can now use cloud-based contact tracing solutions.

Employees can self-report their COVID-19 status with a mobile app employing contact tracing solutions. When a positive COVID-19 case is reported, the system uses contact tracking to determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree exposure. Exposed employees may be contacted to have a COVID-19 test or go into self-quarantine, depending on the policies in place. With effective deployment, these monitoring controls can assist employers in managing COVID-19 instances and providing continuous protection to their employees. All these methods of infecting control have been in place and have evolved during last 2.5 year.

At Imaec Medentek, we are working around the clock to provide end to end solutions for infection control. We have come up with a line of sanitization and cleaning products that will meet the needs of everyone from hospitals and clinics to individuals. We have created a range of products: personal hand disinfectants with the name ProWipes, and hospital floor cleaners with the name MEDENTEK W10, as well as disinfectants for medical devices with the name MEDENTEK OPA, along with different types of protective clothing, disposable gowns along with sheets and drapes for use in medical facilities with the name Pro-Fab. High-performance Pro-Fab surgical gowns and isolation gowns by Imaec Medntek are designed to protect both healthcare personnel and patients from the transfer of microorganisms. Imaec Medntek’s Pro-Fab coverall suits protect healthcare providers from respiratory droplets and prevent the transmission of infections. This allows hospitals and medical facilities to work around the clock, while still keeping infections at bay. We have a similar range of products in the wound dressing and pain management segment. [4]

The important thing is to not to let the guard down. In fact, the fast spreading Omicron variant can only be stopped by emphasizing on infection control measures along with an equal emphasis on vaccination.