International Infection Prevention week 2023 is taking place the week of October 15- 21

International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW), established in 1986, aims to shine a light on infection prevention each year. Last year’s IIPW focused on highlighting the past 50 years of infection prevention and looking forward to a bright future. IIPW 2023’s theme is “Celebrating the Fundamentals of Infection Prevention” which highlights getting back to the basics of infection prevention for everyBODY.

Infection prevention is the concept of using evidence-based practices and procedures usually in the healthcare setting that aim to prevent or reduce the risk of infection to patients as well as healthcare providers. Although the idea of infection prevention is primarily used in healthcare facilities, there are several fundamental ideas that can be applied to our daily lives!

Each day that week is highlighting an important fundamental of infection prevention strategy, they are outlined below:

Monday: Cleaning & Disinfection

Tuesday: Vaccination

Wednesday: PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

Thursday: Respiratory Etiquette

Friday: Injection Safety

Each of these themes is just a small but important piece of infection prevention, you can read more about them, and more about infection prevention at: infectionpreventionandyou.org.

Nathan Christian 

Regional Epidemiologist