Risk Groups Greatly Affected By Cross Contamination

## Immunocompromised Patients

A healthy person is less likely to become unwell by an infection
because of their bodies ability to resist infection. However, patients with an immune system that is low or compromised such as a HIV/AIDS patient,
diabetics, cancer patients and emphysema patients have a higher risk of becoming infected because of
their low resistance to fight off infection. Transplant patients are also at
high risk of opportunistic infections that are airborne or waterborne.  Patients who have undergone transplantation
are at risk for an infection for at least 6 months, in which the first month risk
are extremely high. On an “average 10-15% of transplant patients suffer from
chronic viral infection, such as infection with hepatitis B or C virus, which
progresses inexorably to end-stage organ dysfunction” (Mehta, Gupta, Todi,
Myatra, Samaddar, Patil, & Ramasubban, 2014 p. 156). Other groups at a high
risk of a nosocomial infection are patients with major trauma, acute renal
failure, catheters, and patients using ventilators and patients using
antibiotic are all at risk.Patients with preexisting conditions such as with the elderly,
premature infants and pregnant mothers they have less resistance to fighting
off a potential infection.It is also a priority of the hospital to keep these
individuals protected.

## **Mortality & Morbidity Rates**

Nosocomial or hospital associated infections are an increasing cause of
morbidity and mortality in human and veterinary medicine (Julian, Singh,
Rousseau, & Weese, 2012, para 1).  The
mortality rate was 12.9% for patients with HAI and only 2.3% for patients who
did not acquire an infection during their hospital stay (Brown, 2011, p. 63). The consequences of cross contamination are a serious patient safety and public health issue. Since the 1970s, greater emphasis has been given to prevent healthcare associated infections.  Hospitals that desire to better protect their patients and communities have taken the opportunity of using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system. This voluntary system uses its technology to surveillance high risk high volume areas of the hospital in hopes to prevent and reduce hospital infections through predicting the risk factors.

   According to Klevens, Edwards, Richards Jr., Horan, Gaynes, Pollock, & Cardo (2007) claimed that in 2002, more than 1.7 million hospital acquired infections was detected from the NNIS data.  Among the 1.7 million of them 33, 269 were infants in the NICU; 417, 946 adults and children in the intensive care unit and over 1, 266,851 infections occurred outside of the ICU (p.160). The highest percentage of patients with a hospital acquired infection was adults and children in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Additionally, among those infected, 155,668 patients died from the infection.  Dasgupta et al, (2015) believed the results of deaths were caused by but not limited to pneumonia, bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, surgical site infections and other infections (para.12). Klevens et al (2007) implied that the greatest number of deaths associated with hospital acquired infections was pneumonia and bloodstream infections, that claimed the lives of over 66, 6632 people.  There were over 13, 088 deaths related to urinary tract infections, 8, 205 with surgical site infections and 11, 062 with other body site infections. Of the 1.7 million patients recorded in the NNIS, the number of deaths associated with a nosocomial infection accounted for nearly 99,000 deaths (p. 163). These estimates are quite alarming and prove the need for prevention and continued surveillance.