In 2009, the state Department of Health’s Public Health Laboratory detected a CRE isolate. In 2010, the department, APIC and other experts developed recommendations and best practices for the prevention and control of CRE in acute-care and long-term acute-care hospitals.
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Since then, no outbreaks or transmission of CRE have been reported among facilities that have conducted active surveillance testing. Officials from the Minnesota Department of Health compiled three major lessons learned throughout this process:
• Communication is an essential component of CRE infection prevention and control because patients are often moved within the hospital or transferred to another healthcare facility.
• Successful prevention and control of CRE requires close collaboration between laboratory and infection prevention staff.
• Surveillance for CRE is labor- and time-intensive but worth the effort.
To view the state’s recommendations for acute-care hospitals in full, click here.
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