Tenth Lecture: Why there is Glory in Prevention?

Moderation: Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Marion Kiechle

Why there is Glory in Prevention? Local and National Strategies for Infection Prevention

Protecting patients and employees from infections with SARS-CoV2 was and is a challenging task that had to be solved in an interdisciplinary manner. Infection prevention and hygiene have moved into the spotlight as central control points in the clinics. In addition to protective equipment and training for employees, spatial and organizational structures had to be created to prevent virus transmissions. Prof. Prazeres da Costa and Dr. Wantia discuss the various current protective measures against the historical background of the Spanish flu and the 2003 SARS pandemic, and provide insights into everyday clinical practice and its challenges, especially at the beginning of the pandemic. Good protection concepts with effective resource management and contact tracing allow all staff to work safely.

Patienten und Mitarbeiter vor Infektionen mit SARS-CoV2 zu schützen war und ist eine herausfordernde Aufgabe, die interdisziplinär gelöst werden musste. Infektionsprävention und Hygiene sind dabei als zentrale Schaltstellen in den Kliniken ins Rampenlicht gerückt. Neben Schutzausrüstung und Training für Mitarbeiter, mussten auch räumliche und organisatorische Strukturen geschaffen werden, um Virus-Übertragungen zu verhindern. Prof. Prazeres da Costa und Dr. Wantia diskutieren die verschiedenen aktuellen Schutzmaßnahmen vor historischem Hintergrund der spanischen Grippe und der SARS-Pandemie 2003 und geben Einblicke in den klinischen Alltag und dessen Herausforderungen vor allem zu Beginn der Pandemie. Gute Schutzkonzepte mit effektivem Ressourcenmanagement und Kontaktnachverfolgung ermöglichen ein sicheres Arbeiten für alle Mitarbeiter.

Professor Clarissa Prazeres da Costa MD

Professor Prazeres da Costa is a consultant medical microbiologist, immunologist, and infectious disease specialist, long-term lecturer, co-founder, and co-director of the Center for Global Health at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). For 17 years, she heads the research group “Infection and Immunity in Global Health” as well as the diagnostic parasitology department and teaching unit at the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology, and Hygiene at TUM. Her scientific interests focus on basic immunological aspects of host-parasite interactions of zoonotic and neglected tropical diseases (NTD) and type 2 immune disorders such as allergies in relation to maternal and child health involving molecular studies, experimental models, and large-scale clinical trials in Africa. Her Global Health activities range from novel technologies, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to Women’s Health. Her research is funded, amongst others, by the German Research Foundation (DFG) including large-scale consortia (SFB), Alexander-von-Humboldt-Foundation, and by the Germany Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Since March 2020 she is a member of the COVID-19 Expert Team at the Technical University Hospital (Klinikum rechts der Isar).

Nina Wantia MD

Dr. Nina Wantia studied human medicine in Münster and worked subsequently as an ENT-Surgeon at the University Hospital of Ulm. She began working in research at TUM in 2003 and since 2013, she is head of the Diagnostic Department in the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene. She is also the resident Hygienist of the German Heart Center of Munich where she is part of the Corona Expert Team and an expert in Antibiotic Stewardship. Her main research focuses on relevant topics such as development of novel diagnostics in the area of  Clinical Microbiology.