Experts Meet to Develop Global Healthcare Hand Hygiene Guidelines

GENEVA -- The Second International Consultation on WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care: Implementation Strategies was held last week at the World Health Organization (WHO), in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting is a follow-up to the first international consultation which took place Dec. 3, 2004. Available evidence on hand hygiene was reviewed and working groups were designated to discuss specific topics on hand hygiene. Experts were invited to contribute to the preparation of the draft WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare.

Following the first consultation, a core group of experts coordinated the work of writing the chapters of the draft guidelines, reviewing content and fostering discussion among authors. The purpose of the April 2005 meeting is to reach an experts consensus on the draft and discuss implementation strategies, including acceptability and feasibility issues in developing countries.

Source: WHO