Grant for research into the effective prevention of infection in patients with COVID-19

There are several guidelines for preventing coronavirus infection in the hospital

ZonMw grants a grant of €300,000 for research into effective infection prevention in COVID patients; ENVI-GO-PAN project. So far, the term “too much is better than too little” applies, but this is not based on a lot of evidence and also has its drawbacks. Researchers from Erasmus MC are working alongside researchers from four other UMCs to find the most effective and efficient infection prevention measures.

Guidelines: High costs
There are several guidelines for preventing coronavirus infection in the hospital. They state that the patient’s room should not only be cleaned, but also disinfected after a patient infected with the virus is discharged. This entails high costs, additional work and health risks for healthcare workers. Plus, potentially harmful substances end up in the environment. Wearing an isolation apron with sleeves while caring for a COVID patient is also recommended in the guidelines. Using aprons also results in higher costs, extra work and a lot of waste. More knowledge is needed. The ENVI-GO-PAN project is examining whether less can be done based on the evidence. This contributes to sustainable care without endangering the safety of patients and staff.

Medical microbiologist Juliëtte Severin and epidemiologist Anne Voor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Erasmus MC are leading a study on how to clean and disinfect patient rooms more effectively and efficiently after a patient with the virus has been discharged, and how aprons are best used. To this end, they are working closely with Jeroen van Campen, Bart Haagmans and Marion Koopmans from the Department of Virology and with colleagues from four other unaccompanied children.

Also other viruses
Juliëtte and Anne: With a ZonMw grant, we want to do research on the role of cleaning and disinfecting patients’ rooms, but also on the added value of isolation gowns during the care of patients infected with the virus. We also look at these actions for influenza and RS virus. Since we are studying not only SARS-CoV-2 but also other related respiratory viruses, our results will be broadly applicable, including in the event of a future respiratory virus pandemic.

Stady
The ENVI-GO-PAN project is a collaboration between Erasmus MC (Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases – Infection Prevention Unit and Department of Virology), UMC Groningen, Radboudumc, LUMC and Amsterdam UMC. The study will run from January 2023 to January 2024.

The research team is looking for another researcher for this project. View the vacancy on the Werken Bij Erasmus MC website.

Read more about the study here: The role of environmental cleaning and disinfection and the use of long-sleeved gowns to prevent transmission of pandemic viruses: ENVI-GO-PAN project – ZonMw