Context and definition

Florence Nightingale, in her Notes on Nursing, paraphrased the principle, ‘First do the sick no harm’. Nowhere is this more important than in the prevention and control of infection in health care settings.

Approximately 10% of patients will acquire an infection during an episode of health care. This can result in:

• Increased suffering and distress
  
• Physical and psychological harm, lasting damage or even death
  
• The need for additional drug treatment with risk of adverse effects
  
• Extended hospital stays with additional exposure to risk
  
• Additional costs to the NHS.

Prevention and control of infection

Children are particularly vulnerable to health care associated infection. The younger the child, the more vulnerable he/she is as the immune system matures and becomes more efficient across childhood. Some groups of children are particularly at risk of acquiring infections:

• Children with intrinsic immunodeficiency (e.g. severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID))
  
• Children with acquired immunodeficiency (e.g. following chemotherapy, radiotherapy or corticosteroid use)
  
• Chronically unwell children
  
• The unimmunized.

Specific pathogens

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