[Organization of the program for prevention and control of nosocomial infections in France]

Nosocomial infections (NI) are infections acquired in hospitals. The aim of this paper is to describe the organization of NI control program in France. The organization of this program started in 1988 by the formation of the Infection Control Committees in hospitals. Their role has been to organize the surveillance of NI, to verify basic measures of hygiene, safety of invasive procedures, disinfection and sterilization procedures, occupational safety, and to organize the continued education of health staff members. Operational teams have also been established in hospitals. At the national and regional levels, the National and Regional Infection Control Committees were established in 1992 in order to define the national policy for the treatment of actual infection problems in hospitals and to organize the co-operation between hospitals. In addition, many research projects concerning NI have been conducted and a number of international scientific meetings regarding this subject have taken place in France. According to the two surveys conducted at the national level, in 1990 and 1996, the prevalence rate of NI was found to be 7.4 and 7.6%, respectively. The infection control program could probably be integrated, in the future, into the Hospital Risk Management Program.