Healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance

Head of Service a.i.:

Containing infections contracted in healthcare facilities and limiting antimicrobial resistance

Our research team provides healthcare facilities with the tools necessary to monitor healthcare-related infections, resistance to antibiotics and the consumption of antimicrobial agents. Our research and surveillance activities enable us to help limit resistance to antibiotics, both in human and animal medicine. We share our expertise with the health authorities, and provide field support in the case of epidemics linked to bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics.

Healthcare facilities: hospitals, chronic care/long-term care facilities, retirement and nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, etc.
Surveillance: measure and monitor the evolution of a phenomenon, e.g. antibiotic resistance.
Healthcare-related infections: infections contracted by patients during hospitalisation or by residents in long-stay facilities (e.g. operative wound infection).
Resistance to antibiotics: mechanism by which micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, yeasts, etc.) normally destroyed by so-called anti-infective drugs develop the ability to resist these medicines and multiply.
Antimicrobial agents: also known as anti-infective drugs. This is a family of substances that kill or slow the growth of bacteria (antibiotics), fungi (antifungal agents), viruses (antivirals).
Antibiotics: a sub-class of antimicrobial agents, active exclusively on bacteria.
Bacteria resistant to several classes of antibiotics or “multi-resistant bacteria”. Infections related to these bacteria are difficult to treat.