The July 2019 issue of the ICCS Infection Prevention & Control Newsletter has published.
The issue includes stories on medical errors, septic arthritis, joint infections, tuberculosis, catheters and C. diff.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on countries worldwide to come together and eliminate hepatitis.
As a WHO news release notes, a new study published in Lancet Global Health finds that investing $6 billion annually to eliminate the disease in 67 low- and middle-income countries would prevent 4.5 million premature deaths by 2030, and more than 26 million deaths beyond. WHO concludes that about $60 billion is required to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat in these countries by 2030, which would require a reduction in new hepatitis infections by 90% and deaths by 65%.
The plea from WHO comes at a time when the organization says the costs associated with diagnosing and treating viral hepatitis have declined. The organization noted that countries, such as India and Pakistan, are already taking advantage of reduced costs to undertake new hepatitis-focused initiatives.
The call for action came in conjunction with World Hepatitis Day. As WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in the release, "Today, 80% of people living with hepatitis can't get the services they need to prevent, test for and treat the disease. On World Hepatitis Day, we’re calling for bold political leadership, with investments to match. We call on all countries to integrate services for hepatitis into benefit packages as part of their journey towards universal health coverage."
The Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS) team has become aware of companies that develop endoscope reprocessors incorporating a "modified manual cleaning" process that "allows for quicker and easier reprocessing, automating over half of the manual cleaning steps, including flushing of the endoscope channels."
In reviewing the instructions for use (IFUs) of a company with the "automated modified manual cleaning" option, this process should not replace or provide a "shortcut" for a full manual cleaning. ICCS strongly advises organizations to continue performing a complete, manual cleaning of every scope, especially when this step is highlighted in the endoscope manufacturer’s IFUs and other reprocessing standards.
Facilities must follow IFUs developed by the scope manufacturers, scope reprocessor equipment manufacturers and manufacturers of cleaning and high-level disinfection (HLD) products. In addition, standards and recommendations of nationally recognized organizations, associations and agencies, if selected by the facilities, must be taken into consideration.
For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) released recommendations in 2016 with an update in 2017 titled "Essential Elements of a Reprocessing Program for Flexible Endoscopes." Its recommendations include the following: "Manual cleaning is the most critical step in the disinfection process since residual organic material can reduce the effectiveness of HLD and sterilization."
AORN, SGNA and AAMI provide standards for reprocessing scopes, which also include manual cleaning in their guidance.
ICCS advises facilities to perform scope cleaning verification as another critical step in assuring reprocessing effectiveness. There are several verification methods and products available to assist facilities with the goal of effective reprocessing of scopes.