The principles guiding the prevention of infections have been known for many centuries, and surveillance for hospital infections has been performed since the mid-1800s. However, modern infection control units were only developed in the 1960s following large nosocomial staphylococcal outbreaks. The SENIC study (1980) showed that targeted surveillance with feedback of data to surgeons, balanced with education and training activities in infection prevention, using teams containing infection control practitioners and epidemiologists, were effective in decreasing nosocomial infection rates.
Since that time, infection prevention units have expanded the range of surveillance, have become involved in related areas such as hospital accreditation, and some units are also involved in staff health and antibiotic stewardship activities. There has been a trend from an analytic, epidemiological approach to a process-orientated quality improvement approach, with an increasing recognition that the barriers to implementation of effective interventions are often complex. Some current issues have been introduced by a move toward between-hospital comparisons and benchmarking and public reporting, including the validity of infection definitions, and the lack of flexibility to respond to local problems. In the future, infection prevention teams are likely to involve a wider range of disciplines, and use a diversity of approaches to reduce healthcare associated infection.