[Hygiene and infection prevention in disaster events with decompensated crisis treatment]

In the event of a disaster, compliance with basic hygiene measures is crucial. These measures are carried out regardless of the colonization or infection status of the patient in order to prevent the transmission of pathogens to other patients and personnel and to minimize the risk of a nosocomial distribution of (potential) infectious pathogens. This primarily includes hygienic hand disinfection and the use of special barrier precautions and personal protective equipement depending on the situation as well as safe injection and infusion techniques, proper processing of medical products and full vaccination protection of the personnel. When consistently applied basic hygiene measures also protect against the transmission of multidrug-resistant pathogens in undetected colonized patients and many viral infections. Due to a massive increase in demand (e.g., during the pandemic), disruptions in supply chains or breakdowns in facility-specific structures, prolonged shortages of materials that are important for implementing basic hygiene can occur. In these situations, substitution strategies are required, e.g., for the in-house production of hand and surface disinfectants, the handling of drinking water, alternative ways of processing medical products, wound care and the use of antibiotics.