Infection

Description:  Hand Hygiene for Patient and Provider Safety in Canada is part of the Hand Hygiene Challenge website. In partnership with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, the project provides factsheets, educational opportunities and resources for patients and families wanting to improve their hand hygiene practices. The World Health Organization’s Clean Care is Safer Care site was launched in 2005 to raise awareness of healthcare-associated infections as an important priority in patient safety. The Hand Hygiene campaign is dedicated to supporting patients with materials developed to highlight the importance of hand hygiene.

Description:  Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a new respiratory disease but has also been called « atypical pneumonia ». Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a more accurate name for it. Individuals with this disease develop a fever (above 38 degrees Celsius) and respiratory symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. The disease appeared in Asia at the end of 2002 and spread to various countries, including Canada, by international travel. So far, no cases have been reported in Quebec.

Description:  The mission of the Service de lutte contre les infections transmissibles sexuellement et par le sang (SLITSS) is to coordinate measures to combat HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), HCV (hepatitis C virus) and other STI (sexually transmitted infections). The service promotes health and well-being and recommendations in the Québec Public Health Program (Programme national de santé publique). SLITSS works with its partners to implement and follow-up on recommendations, and ensures that the outcomes defined in these documents are achieved.

Description:  The Nosocomial and Occupational Infections page of the Public Health Agency of Canada works to enhance infection prevention and control initiatives for health and community settings. It does this by collecting, analyzing, interpreting and disseminating epidemiological information on nosocomial and occupational infections. The site includes information about scientific meetings on Occupational Influenza Prevention and Control in Health Care Settings.