Healthcare Associated Infections-Community Interface (HAIC)

Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) and Antibiotic Use (AU) Prevalence Surveys are conducted in all 10 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites in the United States. HAIs are an important public health problem because of their devastating effects on the wellbeing of patients, in addition to the billions of dollars in unnecessary expense they add to the healthcare system. Research suggests that a growing number of HAIs are caused by organisms that have developed resistance to standard antimicrobial drugs.

The Emerging Infections Program (EIP) conducts Candidemia surveillance in all ten EIP sites throughout the United States. The purpose of this surveillance system is to describe epidemiological characteristics of Candidemia such as incidence, Candida species distribution, antifungal drug resistance, treatment practices, and outcomes on a local and national level, in order to develop and implement effective prevention and control strategies.

The Emerging Infections Program (EIP) Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) surveillance is being conducted in seven EIP sites throughout the United States. Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic, spore-forming, gram positive bacillus that produces two pathogenic toxins: A and B. CDI ranges in severity from mild diarrhea to fulminant colitis and death.