First joint meeting on antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infectionsArchived
This was the first joint annual plenary meeting of the EARS-Net and HAI-Net participants and the National Antimicrobial Resistance Focal Points.
On 23-25 November 2011, ECDC organised the first Joint Annual Meeting of the Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-associated Infections (ARHAI) Networks that was held in Warsaw, Poland.
The meeting addressed a wide range of issues concerning antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Poland, as host nation and current EU presidency country, presented its experiences and successes with surveillance and control of HAI and AMR. The meeting further included fourteen separate network sessions related to activities of EARS-Net, HAI-Net and National AMR Focal points.
The HAI sessions were about surveillance of surgical site infections, infections in intensive care units, Clostridium difficile infections, as well as on the point prevalent surveys of HAI and antimicrobial use in acute care hospitals and in long-term care facilities, infection control training and the future of HAI surveillance.
The AMR sessions focused on prevention and control of carbapenemase-producing bacteria in healthcare facilities, the Epidemic Intelligence Information System (EPIS) module for AMR and HAI, and the future of AMR surveillance. The presentations and discussions on carbapenem resistance attracted much attention from all countries. The meeting also featured a session on how to link databases and an open session on TESSy and other surveillance software for data managers.
The meeting was attended by 221 participants that represented all EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, all the candidate and potential candidate countries, as well as representatives from the European Commission and WHO.