STRENGTHENING INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL CAPACITY TO REDUCE SECONDARY BACTERIAL INFECTIONS AMONG ORTHOPOX VIRUS-MONKEYPOX HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS IN UGANDA
Author(s)
Nakato Shillah, MPH.
Technical advisor Infection control, Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda.
Technical advisor Infection control, Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda.
OBJECTIVES: Uganda continues to report sporadic orthopox virus monkeypox cases, requiring sustained infection prevention and control (IPC), healthcare worker (HCW) training, and implementation of monkeypox treatment guidelines by level of care.
We describe the impact of strengthening IPC at monkeypox (mpox) treatment units (MTUs) aimed at reducing secondary bacterial wound infections among hospitalized patients
METHODS: A 90-day multimodal IPC intervention (July-September 2025) was deployed at mpox treatment units. Activities included targeted mentorship on hand hygiene, wound care, and environmental hygiene practices that were considered key in the chain of transmission. Essential IPC and wound care commodities were provided to compliment the intervention. Baseline and end-line assessments were conducted using the WHO mpox WASH/IPC rapid assessment and hand hygiene observation tools. Data was exported into Stata 18 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA) for analysis. We summarised patient characteristics using medians with interquartile ranges or means with standard deviations for continuous variables and proportions for categorical variables. Bivariate analyses compared rates of secondary infection across MTUs and patient subgroups. IPC compliance trends were assessed using time-series plots and χ² tests for trend. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant
RESULTS: Forty-seven HCWs were mentored (28% female). Hand hygiene compliance improved from 23% (SD±17.47) to 41% (SD±11.53), p=0.043. Facility mean IPC performance increased from 56 (SD ± 8.19) to 75.7 (SD ± 11.15), p = 0.045. HCW post-exposure management remained low (33%) at the end line. Secondary infection rates declined from 42% (45/108) to 35% (22/63) in the final month.
CONCLUSIONS: The multimodal IPC intervention improved MTU IPC performance and could have led to a reduction in secondary bacterial infections. however, revealed critical gaps in post-exposure management among healthcare workers, highlighting the need for stronger MoH guidance and policy implementation.
We describe the impact of strengthening IPC at monkeypox (mpox) treatment units (MTUs) aimed at reducing secondary bacterial wound infections among hospitalized patients
METHODS: A 90-day multimodal IPC intervention (July-September 2025) was deployed at mpox treatment units. Activities included targeted mentorship on hand hygiene, wound care, and environmental hygiene practices that were considered key in the chain of transmission. Essential IPC and wound care commodities were provided to compliment the intervention. Baseline and end-line assessments were conducted using the WHO mpox WASH/IPC rapid assessment and hand hygiene observation tools. Data was exported into Stata 18 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA) for analysis. We summarised patient characteristics using medians with interquartile ranges or means with standard deviations for continuous variables and proportions for categorical variables. Bivariate analyses compared rates of secondary infection across MTUs and patient subgroups. IPC compliance trends were assessed using time-series plots and χ² tests for trend. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant
RESULTS: Forty-seven HCWs were mentored (28% female). Hand hygiene compliance improved from 23% (SD±17.47) to 41% (SD±11.53), p=0.043. Facility mean IPC performance increased from 56 (SD ± 8.19) to 75.7 (SD ± 11.15), p = 0.045. HCW post-exposure management remained low (33%) at the end line. Secondary infection rates declined from 42% (45/108) to 35% (22/63) in the final month.
CONCLUSIONS: The multimodal IPC intervention improved MTU IPC performance and could have led to a reduction in secondary bacterial infections. however, revealed critical gaps in post-exposure management among healthcare workers, highlighting the need for stronger MoH guidance and policy implementation.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
EPH223
Topic
Clinical Outcomes, Epidemiology & Public Health, Study Approaches
Topic Subcategory
Public Health
Disease
Infectious Disease (non-vaccine), No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas, Respiratory-Related Disorders (Allergy, Asthma, Smoking, Other Respiratory), Veterinary Medicine