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ournal of Infection and Public Health (2012) 5, 319—320

DITORIAL

aving the road for public health initiatives

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t is truly an honor and a pleasure to be appointeds the new Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Infec-ion and Public Health (JIPH). I would also like toxpress, on behalf of the editorial board and theembers of the Elsevier family, our gratitude to Dr.iad Memish, the former Editor-in-Chief of the jour-al, who worked tirelessly to bring JIPH to wheret is today. Dr. Memish is now serving as the Deputyinister of Health for Preventive Medicine in Saudirabia.

Shortly after the journal was launched, thelobal community experienced the H1N1 pandemic.here was a worldwide sense of urgency forany different disciplines and authorities to join

ogether to handle this pandemic. The approach toatient care was very similar in many countries:rom defining patient flow processes to providinground-the-clock healthcare services; from mak-ng medications available to managing severe casesnd providing intensive care services; and fromontact tracing and ensuring that proper isolationolicies were followed and that the resources too so were available to deciding on vaccine strate-ies. The H1N1 pandemic was a true test of howach country would respond to a disaster and, fur-her, a test of how different countries would takeesponsibility for the greater global community.ith no hesitation, I can attest that I, throughy personal involvement in the H1N1 pandemic as

ne of the leaders in our hospitals and as a mem-er of the National Infectious Diseases committee,ave developed a true respect for the disciplinef public health and the importance of develop-ng this science and expertise. In addition, theandemic provided the opportunity for the emer-ence of a large body of medical literature on

he characteristics and outcomes of patients with1N1. This literature included socio-psychologicalesearch describing the different perceptions and

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ttitudes of people of different cultures toward theandemic and the ramifications of various interven-ions, from isolation to treatment and, of course,mmunization.

Acknowledging public health as a discipline ints own right, we have dedicated JIPH to serve as

platform for the global community to exchangexperiences relevant to emerging public healthoncerns, with a special emphasis on infectious dis-ases. The example of H1N1 is recent and dramatic,ut the number of infectious public health concernss endless.

JIPH is the official journal of King Saud binbdulaziz University for Health Sciences, which haserved as the headquarters of the World Healthrganization Collaborating Center (WHO-CC) for

nfection Control since 2009 and the Gulf Statesouncil Center for Infection Control (GCC-IC) since005. Regular leadership meetings have been con-ucted to address the agenda needed for thisegion to collaborate and share resources for theetter understanding and control of emerging pub-ic health and infectious disease concerns. Majorilestones have been achieved: the GCC countries

urrently share a common manual with over 60olicies and procedures regarding the practices ofnfection control within the hospital setting. Theseolicies were developed based on international ref-rences within the field, including the guidelines ofhe WHO, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),he Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of Amer-ca (SHEA) and the Association for Professionals innfection Control (APIC), and other relevant inter-ational organizations. The manual was adoptednd developed with input from all member states.he second edition of this manual has recently

een completed and includes additional policiesddressing relevant issues, such as environmentallean-up and infection control issues relevant to

King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. All rights reserved.

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hospital support services, such as food and laun-dry. Additionally, the initial steps have been takento establish a strong hospital-based surveillanceprogram for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)based on the CDC National Healthcare SurveillanceNetwork (CDC/NHSN). A GCC surveillance man-ual has been developed to serve as a referenceand educational tool for the member countries totrain infection preventionists (IPs) on how to con-duct surveillance. Repeated courses and site visitshave been conducted to provide onsite trainingand education, specifically aimed at producing aregional benchmark and building capacity in thisfield. The goal is to use these data to provide abasis for the interventions needed to prevent HAIs.Further, the topic of antimicrobial resistance hasbeen given a top priority by the GCC countries.We are aware of the global concerns regardingthe misuse of antimicrobial agents and the emer-gence of resistant pathogens. We are also awareof the lack of new agents to treat such infec-tions, and we must address this issue becausesome member states have few or no restrictionson the use of antimicrobial agents in the hospitalsetting or in the community setting. The lack ofdata on the use of antimicrobial agents and the

lack of meaningful research on the epidemiologyof resistance have been highlighted by the GCCmembers. We are currently establishing local guide-lines and accountability for the use of antimicrobial

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Available online at www

Editorial

gents by healthcare providers. Although the roado adopting interventions to reduce the emergencef antimicrobial resistance is difficult and chal-enging, resources need to be put in place, and

global commitment to this rising public healthssue needs to be made. Recently, the WHO-CCas been involved in activities related to patientafety and infection control within the Easternediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) region. Suchctivities have been given top priority by theirector General of the EMRO, Executive Boardealth Ministers Council for Cooperation Council,nd the leadership of the National Guard Healthffairs, which serves as the host institution foroth the GCC center and the WHO CC for infectionontrol.

Finally, the idea of establishing JIPH arose as aay to provide a platform to address topics related

o the fields of infection and public health. Fiveears later, as a former Associate Editor and nows the second Editor-in-Chief of this journal, I hopeo continue, with the assistance and support of theditorial board, to attract high-quality papers toeet the needs of our most important stakeholders:

esearchers, scientists and public health providersn all disciplines — JIPH is their journal, first andoremost.

Hanan BalkhyEIC JIPH

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