CloroxPro Blog – Professional Cleaning and Disinfection Insights

What Canada can learn from U.S. HAI data

While we are still processing the ways COVID-19 has transformed infection control approaches, there is no doubt that its impact reinforced the notion that prevention is preparedness. Nowhere is this mindset more relevant than when it comes to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), including antimicrobial-resistant organisms (AROs).¹ New U.S. research released this past July from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may offer a helpful preview – and perhaps a head start for Canadian infection control specialists navigating the prevention of HAIs post 2019-2020.^1,2

Resistant hospital-onset infections and deaths among seven pathogens increased 15% from 2019 to 2020

CDC. COVID-19: U.S. Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2022.

Key Findings from CDC Special Report 2022

According to the COVID-19: U.S. Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022, the pandemic pushed back years of progress made combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It was reported that resistant HAIs increased at least 15% during the first year of the pandemic, and that AMR infections had gotten worse.¹

Resistant HAIs are on the rise

The CDC report showed an increase in resistant HAIs from 2019 to 2020 among these seven pathogens:¹ 

• Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter (↑78%)
• ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (↑32%)
• Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) (↑14%)
• Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (↑35%)
• Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa(↑32%)
• Antifungal-resistant Candida (↑26%)
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (↑13%)

Controlling HAIs in Canada, protecting patient safety^2-4

As many as one in 12 patients admitted to Canadian healthcare facilities, and 1 in 8 patients in an ICU, developed an HAI.^4,5

HAIs in Canadian hospitals are prevalent. A recent study reported:

• antimicrobial-resistant organisms, while low in prevalence, are rising;⁶
• antimicrobial-resistant pathogens to watch are carbapenamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae and Candida auris; and
• a rise in vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) infections over time may be linked to recent discontinuation of targeted VRE control strategies in some hospitals in Canada^3,4

There is some good news – the 2021 Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Report found that there was a decrease in Clostridioides difficile (C. diff)infections.^6-8 This decrease was attributed to:

• hand hygiene compliance^3,8
• environmental cleaning ^3,8; and
• antibiotic stewardship³

Environmental cleaning works: Up to 70% of HAIs are preventable⁷

Hard surface disinfection of immediate environments plays a major role in reducing HAIs⁷ – making Clorox^® Canada your ideal go-to partner in disinfection. Our wide range of CloroxPro^® disinfecting and sanitizing products can help you fight HAIs in your facility.

CloroxPro^® disinfecting & sanitizing products demonstrate direct efficacy at killing pathogens of concern

The power to stop the spread of HAIs in Canada

CloroxPro^® offers many Health Canada-approved products that are effective in killing the microorganisms that spread HAIs in your healthcare facility, particularly on hard, non-porous surfaces.

Pandemic-related challenges hindered many prevention practices like cleaning of shared equipment (e.g., blood pressure monitors and other mobile equipment that moves to different patients throughout the day), so be sure to consider Clorox wipes for your hardest to clean surfaces:⁸

To see the efficacy and kill times for specific bacteria, virus, fungi/VET and spores, visit our Clorox Healthcare® page.

References

1. CDC. COVID-19: U.S. Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2022.
2. Boulanger V, et al. Divergences between healthcare-associated infection administrative data and active surveillance data in Canada. Can Commun Dis Rep 2022;48(1):4–16.
3. Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program. Healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance in Canadian acute care hospitals, 2014–2018. Can Commun Dis Rep 2020;46(5):99–112.
4. Johnstone, Jennie, et al. “Health Care-Associated Infections in Canadian Hospitals: Still a Major Problem.” Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 191, no. 36, 2019.
5. Mitchell, Robyn, et al. “Trends in Health Care–Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals in Canada: An Analysis of Repeated Point-Prevalence Surveys.” Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 191, no. 36, 2019.
6. Public Health Agency of Canada. Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Report: Protecting and Empowering Canadians to Improve Their Health.  pp. 90. Published 2021. 
7. MacLaurin, Anne, et al. “Measuring and Monitoring Healthcare-Associated Infections: A Canadian Collaboration to Better Understand the Magnitude of the Problem.” Healthcare Quarterly, vol. 22, no. SP, 2020, pp. 116–28.
8. Weiner-Lastinger, L., et al. ”The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on healthcare-associated infections in 2020: A summary of data reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network.” Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 43 no. 1, 2022. pp 12-25.

© 2022 The Clorox Company