Workshop on health care associated infections in Warsaw, Poland, 25-26 November 2013

The objective of the workshop was to recover experience from various EPIET and EUPHEM investigations in the field in order to learn together how these experiences could help identify common issues. The expected outcome of the workshop was to facilitate European level collaborations for the prevention and control of HAI outbreaks.

After a first morning with introductory presentations by experts, the afternoon was dedicated to a case study on an outbreak of post-surgical infections. During this case study, fellows, recent graduates and experts worked together on understanding how the classical principles (i.e., the famous ‘10 steps’) of an outbreak investigation can be applied in the context of the hospital setting. On the second morning, fellows and recent graduates exchanged their experiences in surveillance, outbreak investigations and operational research while benefiting from input from HAI experts. Finally, a wrap up presentation (available here) summarized how the classical ten steps of an outbreak investigation applied in the context of HAIs.

While this activity was based on the EPIET-EUPHEM ‘mini project module’ concept, it innovated through the direct link with an ECDC disease programme and the involvement of experts. ECDC and its partners recognize that we must learn from these new approaches through careful evaluation. To this effect, ECDC will organize a one-day workshop for debriefing on 23 January 2014 so that organizers can, together, finalize a report that will include a strong evaluation component. Using that approach, organizers hope that they will be able to frame the role and added value of such activities for public health professionals working in infectious disease prevention and control in Europe, including stakeholders such as the HAI community of practice, the ECDC EPIET/EUPHEM fellowships and ECDC disease programmes.