William Jarvis

I have been involved in infection control for over 35 years. We now consult throughout the world on infection control and antibiotic stewardship, in particular reinforcing the importance of following evidence-based data as well as providing guidelines to reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections and ensure the appropriate infection control measures. We’re hopeful that particularly in limited-resource countries these education programs will facilitate better diagnostic and clinical practices, which ultimately will curtail antibiotic use and reduce a huge burden throughout the world of antibiotic resistance. We’ve completed studies focusing on antibiotic stewardship and hand hygiene, and have found that through very simple measures such as that, we have been able to reduce the use of wide broad-spectrum antimicrobials, decreasing the risk for surgical site infections and cross-transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Even just very simple inexpensive interventions have had a major impact on improving patient safety. Because all of need to be resistance fighters.