The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has taken the step to issue new
guidelines to help clinical facilities minimise their risk of a group A
streptococcal (GAS) outbreak.
In collaboration with the GAS Working Group, the HPA expanded its
recommendations to deal with the specific threat of this particular type of
bacterium.
Most of the time humans do not experience any ill-effects from GAS, but
occasionally the bug can result in life-threatening infection.
"These new recommendations are specifically aimed at assisting
healthcare workers in controlling the spread of these infections," said Dr
Joe Kerney, chair of GAS Working Group.
He added that although hospital-acquired infections are rare, it was better
to have preventative measures in place and these guidelines had been formulated
by experts working alongside patient support groups.
This comes after the HPA stated that 90 per cent of the campylobacter
outbreaks in 2011 were associated with chicken liver preparation in catering
venues.
© Adfero Ltd
Private treatment news: 13 January 2012
