IX HISICON 2007

A brief report by the Organising Secretary

Jagdish Chander

Professor & Head, Department of Microbiology,
Government Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh

 
The Hospital Infection Society of India held its IX National Conference (IX HISICON 2007) from 16 to 18 February 2007 at the Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh, India. It was attended by 300 delegates, from various medical institutions all over India. These included microbiologists, surgeons, clinicians and administrators, all of whom were actively involved in policy and decision making towards the control of hospital infections. The theme of this conference was - "Hospital Infection - The Challenge Ahead".

Pre-conference CME on Nosocomial Fungal Infections

A pre-conference Continuing Medical Education (CME) on “Nosocomial Fungal Infections” was organised on 15 February, in which 200 delegates from various medical institutions in India participated. The issue of "Nosocomial Fungal Infections" was taken up for the first time in the country. Speakers, from within the country and abroad, delivered lectures on various topics. “Overview of Nosocomial Fungal Infections” was delivered by Prof TD Chugh from New Delhi. Other topics were “Epidemiology of Nosocomial Candidiasis” by Prof A Chakrabarti from Chandigarh, and “Nosocomial Mould Infections” by Dr R Iyer from Hyderabad. Professor Jagdish Chander, Chandigarh spoke on “Role of Fungi in Surgical Wound Infections”. Dr W Curtis White from Michigan, USA covered “Fungi in Health Care Environment”. Lecture and discussions were carried out on Invasive Zygomycosis, Fungal Infections in ICUs and Transplant Recipients and Fungal Aerobiology. Current topics of interest such as “Molecular Typing of Fungal Pathogens” was covered by Dr A Chowdhury (VPCI, Delhi), and role of “Antifungal Prophylaxis in High Risk Hospitalised Patients” by Dr Vivekanand Jha, were discussed. Dr Juhi Taneja from GMCH, Chandigarh spoke on “Hazards to Laboratory Staff Posed by Fungal Pathogens”. Lastly, there was a panel discussion on “Guidelines for Management of Nosocomial Fungal Infections”, panelists for which were Dr KK Gombar, Dr R Iyer, Dr Anuradha Chaudhary and Dr Jaswinder Oberoi, and was moderated by Prof TD Chugh.

Highlights of the Conference (16-18 Feb 2007)

The conference was a three days’ deliberation which provided guidelines and scientific evidence to control and handle hospital acquired infections. The proceedings for the first day of the conference were eventful. After the welcome note, leading national and international experts having immense contribution in this field presented their talks and shared their experiences. The day started with lectures on ‘Hospital Infection Control - International views’ by Dr Anneriet Van Duin from Netherlands and Dr Aruna Shahani from Sri Lanka. After a short tea break the sessions continued; the first one was on Drug Resistance and then on Information Technology in Hospital Infection Control. Dr Afia Zafar from Pakistan, Dr Nandini Shetty from UK and Dr Niranjan Nayak from AIIMS, New Delhi shared their experiences on the problem of drug resistance in Pakistan, London and India, respectively. Management issues of drug resistance were discussed by Dr Reba Kanungo from Pondicherry and Dr Ratna Rao from Hyderabad. Mr Michael Shemko, Dr Sanjeev Singh and Dr Anuj Sharma talked in detail about Web Based resources for infection control and also elaborated upon software development.

Post lunch session proceeded with special lectures on bench marking for patient safety and quality care by Dr Ulrika Ransjo from Sweden and on accreditation by Dr Akhil Sangal. Dr Bipin Aggarwal talked about super oxidized water which would start a new era in hospital infection control. The first Prof Brahm Prakash Memorial Oration was delivered by Dr Ganesh Mani, a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon and the oration was chaired by Prof KB Sharma, leading microbiologist and advisor.

In the evening, the inauguration ceremony of the IX HISICON 2007 was done by hon’ble Chief Minister (Haryana), Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Release of the Souvenir was done by Dr Meera Sharma. Dr Geeta Mehta, President of HISI addressed the gathering on the theme of the conference ‘Infection Control - The Challenge Ahead’. Dr TS Jain, Dr Raman Sardana and Dr Anita Arora accompanied the dignitaries on the dais along with Director Principal Dr HM Swami. Dr Jagdish Chander introduced the Conference and Dr Varsha Gupta proposed the vote of thanks.

The proceedings for the second day of the conference started with lectures on ‘Hospital Design and Infection Control’ by Dr Anil Gupta (MS, PGIMER, Chandigarh) and Dr V Murlidhar from Delhi. It was followed by a lecture on Nutrition and Infection Control by Dr Prabha Desikan. There was a session on Occupational Infection Hazards in which Dr TS Jain, Dr Ritu Singh Chauhan delivered lectures, Dr Pallab Ray and Dr Saurabh Datta delivered lectures on infections in NICU. Speakers from abroad, Dr Caroline Pankhurst and Dr Geoff Scott from UK, Dr Gunter Kampf from Germany, Dr Ulrika Ransjo from Sweden and Dr Charlotte Owens from USA spoke on Occupational Infection Hazards, Hand Hygiene and Surgical Site Infections, respectively. Major issue of Hospital Waste Management was taken up by Dr KS Baghotia, Dr Kamlakar Vaidya and Dr Shyamala Mani.

The last day of the Conference started with a lecture by Dr Sujata Baveja from Mumbai who spoke on ‘Issues related to single use of Medical Devices’. The day proceeded with lectures on ‘Disinfectants and Disinfection, HIV Transmission in Health Care’ by Dr Neeta Patwardhan, Dr Preeti Mehta and Dr Archana B Mohan. Dr Hans Rodger from Germany cleared some facts about use of disinfectants in viral infections. Medico-legal aspects of Transmission of Infection were taken up by Dr Krishan Vij, Professor & Head, Department of Forensic Medicine, GMCH, Chandigarh. Dr Christopher Armstrong from UK talked on various aspects of Clostridium difficile and Atomic Force Microscopy - An Emerging Biomedical Tool was taken up by Dr DS Chitnis from Indore.

A number of free papers including oral presentations and posters were presented at the conference. The best oral paper presentation and poster presentation were won by Dr Renu Goyal from LHMC Delhi and Dr Manisha Biswas, respectively.

The Conference concluded with the Valedictory Function. Dr Jagdish Chander and Dr Geeta Mehta thanked all the delegates who attended the Conference and the Organising Committee for making the event successful. The prize distribution was done. In addition to the best paper prizes, first and second prizes were awarded for National Quiz on Hospital Infections and were won by Dr Balwinder Mohan and Dr Juhi Taneja, respectively.