Hand Hygiene Blog

Many European countries created national systems for the surveillance of Healthcare-associated infections (HAI), due to the different definitions and methodology of data collection comparison between the countries was impossible before.  The HELICS project (Hospitals in Europe Link for Infection Control through Surveillance) was the first step towards the standardization of HAI data [ 1 ,  2 ]. HELICS was a Europe-wide HAI surveillance program launched in 1994, mainly focusing on surgical site infections  [3] .

There are several recommendations on the opportunities when health-care workers (HCW) should perform hand hygiene. Perhaps the most widely known guideline is the ‘ My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene ’ developed by the WHO.