UK adds E coli to mandatory HAI surveillance programme
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The UK’s Department of Health is to extend the mandatory surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in England to include Escherichia coli (E coli) bacteraemias, as of 1 June 2011. The government is expecting rapid “comprehensive compliance” of case identification and reporting, according to a letter sent by chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies and deputy NHS chief executive David Flory to hospital managers. New guidelines are being drawn up by the DH and the Health Protection Agency (HPA) specifically for the surveillance of E coli, the letter notes.