9:00 – 9:45 Registration
9:45 – 9:55 Introduction by the Chair: Dr Rajinder Pnaiser, UK
9:55 – 10:15 The History of Infection Control
Dr Rajinder Pnaiser, UK
10:15 – 10:45 Hospital Accquired Infections A surgeon’s Point of view
Mr Debashis Ghosh, Leicester Royal Infirmary
10:45 – 10:50 Speakers photo
10:50 – 11:15 Mid-morning break
11:15 – 11:45 Talk title to be confirmed
Helen O'Connor, Nurse Consultant Infection Prevention & Control
Assistant DIPC, Lister Hospital, UK
11:45– 12:15 Monitoring eradication of MRSA by silver-based fabrics.
Dr Fatih Awad-El-Kariem, Consultant Microbiologist; Senior Clinical Fellow, East & North Hertfordshire Trust, Stevenage; Postgraduate Medical School, University of Hertfordshire
Patients who were carriers of MRSA were given pyjamas and linen made from Silver-based fabrics and their MRSA status was monitored daily using a rapid detection technology. The ability of silver to eradicate MRSA and the effectiveness of the rapid detection protocol will be discussed
12:15 – 12:45 Is there an association between antimicrobial resistance genes with qacA/B genes in Staphylococcus aureus?
Azra Khan, Hospital Infection Research Laboratory, City Hospital Birmingham, UK
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of nosocomial infection and recognised as an increasing global public health and infection control concern. Once established within hospitals and/or other healthcare establishments, MRSA is difficult to control. Biocides play an important role in limiting the potential source of nosocomial infections. In order for antibiotics and biocides to work they need to reach their target site. Efflux mechanisms are an ingenious resistance mechanism utilised by Staphylococci (and other bacteria) to prevent accumulation and removal of biocides. There will also be a brief account of a visit to Ghana to improve the healthcare facilities at Nandom Hospital. Infection Control is an issue in Nandom but not MRSA or C. difficle, the real problems are TB and Malaria and HIV. However, the most alarming aspect of the service in the rural hospitals is the poor adherence to basic standards and practice in the laboratory.
12:45 – 12:55 Introduction the BioPark
14:00 – 14:30 Infection in the Intensive Care Unit
Dr Dipankar Bose, Critical Care Consultant, UK
14:30 – 15:00 Lighting and Fighting Infection
Dr. Richard Hobday, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that the light levels needed to promote wellbeing in hospitals are much higher than those required simply to perform visual tasks. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) held this to be the case. As she wrote in 1859 in Notes on Hospitals 'Direct sunlight, not only daylight, is necessary for speedy recovery' She insisted on sunlight because she believed it had a 'purifying' effect and reduced the risk of infection. Florence Nightingale's thinking was in advance of the available scientific evidence. Subsequently, in 1877, two British scientists showed light, and especially sunlight, does indeed have a bactericidal effect. And in the years that followed, sunlit rooms were held to be hygienic, while those that did not admit the sun's rays were not. Today, in marked contrast, the germicidal properties of light are not considered when hospital buildings are planned. In this presentation, Dr. Richard Hobday discusses contemporary medical research which confirms that sunlit environments can be healthier and safer than those that exclude the sun.
15:00 – 15:30 Afternoon Tea/Coffee and Last Poster Viewing
15:30 – 16:00 Talk title to be conirmed
Dr Peter Wilson Barts & London Hospitals.
16:00 – 16:30 Bacteriophages and their role in prevention and therapy of hospital acquired infections
Dr Alastair Monk, Biocontrol Limited, UK
Bacteriophage therapy has been long established in Eastern Europe and Russia; however Western medicine has been focused heavily on antibiotics and antimicrobials. With pan drug resistant bacteria increasing in frequency, a rise in antibiotic resistance, and a limited pipeline of new antimicrobials new methods are called for in the fight against hospital acquired infections. In this talk we will present areas where bacteriophages can be useful additions in the arsenal against antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as presenting where bacteriophage therapy is currently a useful addition from our experiences and successful Phase II clinical trial data.
16:30 – 17:00 Chairman’s summing up.
18:00 Soiree at The Best Western Homestead Court Hotel for all the participants
This meeting was organised by Euroscicon (www.euroscicon.com), a team of dedicated professionals working for the continuous improvement of technical knowledge transfer to all scientists. Euroscicon believe that they can make a positive difference to the quality of science by providing cutting edge information on new technological advancements to the scientific community. This is provided via our exceptional services to individual scientists, research institutions and industry. The event was hosted by 'BioPark’ (www.biopark.co.uk), a research and development centre in Welwyn Garden City providing specialist facilities and support for bioscience and health technology businesses to grow, and to develop new products and technologies
About the Chair
Over 10 years Dr Pnaiser's experience has been in the field of Biological Sciences specialising in cell biology, molecular biology, medical and environmental microbiology, Infection Prevention, virology/serology and immuno-histochemistry, Her background is uncommonly broad. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences in 1996 and qualified as a Biomedical Scientist in 1998 at Birmingham Heartlands PHL, gaining a PhD from the University of Warwick in 2006 in current molecular microbiology and its environmental application. She joined the Hospital Infection Research Laboratory (HIRL) in 2004. The laboratory being one of only two specialist Infection Research Laboratories in the United Kingdom. Her present position is as a Professional Services Coordinator for a UK Medical Diagnostics Team.
About the Speakers
Dr Awadel-Kariem is a clinical microbiologist with special interest in basic and applied clinical research. After medical school he practiced medicine for 4 years in Africa. He then joined the University of London where he gained an MSc and a PhD in Microbiology. After a five years Wellcome Fellowship at Imperial College he worked at a number of Teaching and District General Hospitals in London. He is currently based at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage where he is carrying out research in Antibiotics Resistance and in Control of Hospital Pathogens. His other research interests include Molecular Diagnostics and Opportunistic Pathogens
Mrs Lizzie Robinson trained at Kings College Hospital, London. For all of her nursing career she has worked as a theatre and recovery nurse but has recently made the move into Infection Prevention.
Mr Debashish Ghoshm. Trained as a Surgeon In India. 17 years of Surgical Experience in all specialities including Cardiothoracic,Orthopaedics,Neurosurgery.Higher specialist Trainee in Colorectal Surgery UK since 2000 ,currrently in final year of training.worked in Different Settings Rural India,Modern Tertiary Hospitals pf Mumbai, University hospitals Of Cov and Warks, and Leicester, Different DGH across midlands.Completed MD from University of Warwick On The Role of COX-2 in colorectal Cancer
Azra Khan is a Senior Biomedical Scientist at the Hospital Infection Research Laboratory (HIRL), City Hospital, Birmingham. This is one of only two Infection Research Laboratories in the United Kingdom the other is based at the Health Protection Agency, Collindale, London. The work of the laboratory is primarily to investigate the spread, control and prevention of infection in hospitals and other healthcare establishments. It is also is well known for testing disinfectants and other infection control products. Her areas of expertise are medical microbiology, infection prevention and control, and bacterial resistance mechanisms. She is also involved in a charity project between Northampton general Hospital and Nandom Hospital in Ghana, Africa in a key role to improve the healthcare facilities at Nandom Hospital.
Alastair Monk is the Scientific Team Leader for Biocontrol Ltd, a biotechnology company specializing in developing bacteriophage therapeutics for antibiotic resistant bacteria. He obtained his degree in microbiology at Birimingham University before studying MRSA evolution and adaptation during his PhD with Mark Enright. Following a postdoc working on Staphylococci and their antibiotic resistance mechanisms and population dynamics with Gordon Archer he joined Biocontrol Ltd. Areas of interest for this speaker include antibiotic resistance, bacterial population dynamics, bacteriophages therapy and bacteriophages as therapeutic and diagnostic systems.
Richard Hobday is a Research Fellow at the School of the Built and Natural Environment, University of the West of England, Bristol. He received his MSc and PhD from the School of Engineering, Cranfield University, where he specialised in solar design. A recognised authority on sunlight and health in the built environment, he is the author of The Light Revolution: Health Architecture and the Sun (Findhorn Press, 2006) and The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century (Findhorn Press, 1999).
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SUBMITTED ABSTRACTS
Baclite rapid MRSA test for the detection of low level MRSA colonisation in an Elderly Care Medicine Unit
Raja Noman Manzoor, School of Biomedical Sciences & Postgraduate Medical School, University of Hertfordshire, UK
The study examined the effectiveness of Baclite rapid MRSA test to detect low level MRSA colonisation. Swabs from six elderly care wards were processed in Baclite and by a routine laboratory method i.e. culture on chromogenic MRSA agar plates. Baclite rapid MRSA test detected 33 MRSA positive patients while only 17 patients were found positive by the laboratory screening method. Two of those patients who were found negative by laboratory screening during ward screening later became positive on follow up swabs in the routine laboratory screening.
These results confirm the benefit of Baclite as an MRSA rapid detection tool as it can detect all colonised MRSA patients detectable by the routine diagnostic methods but at a fraction of the time. Furthermore, a second benefit of the adoption of the Baclite rapid MRsA test, demonstrated in this study, is that (due to its enhanced sensitivity) it can detect low levels of MRSA colonisation long before they are detectable by routine laboratory methods.