Dr Sarah Browning1
1Hunter New England Local Health District
Biography:
Dr Sarah Browning is an Infectious Diseases Physician, Clinical Director of the Infection Prevention Service at Hunter New England Health, and a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle. Dr Browning co-chairs the SDPRIA Infection Control and Infectious Diseases Working Group, supporting implementation of a statewide infection prevention and surveillance platform across New South Wales. Dr Browning is currently undertaking a PhD focused on preventing healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial-resistant organism transmission in acute healthcare settings.
Abstract:
Mould in healthcare environments presents a particular challenge for infection prevention: its presence may be readily identified, while determining the clinical significance and appropriate response is considerably more complex. Construction, renovation, water ingress and disruption of ventilation systems can increase the risk of environmental fungal contamination, but the consequences for patients vary substantially according to the organism, degree and route of exposure, and host susceptibility.
This presentation will examine the clinical significance of healthcare-associated mould exposure, with a focus on identifying the patients at greatest risk of invasive fungal infection and the organisms of greatest concern. It will explore the relationship between environmental contamination and clinical disease, including why detection of mould does not necessarily equate to patient risk, while recognising the potentially severe consequences of exposure for highly susceptible populations.
The presentation will conclude with a practical, clinically focused approach to assessing the significance of mould identified during construction, renovation or environmental incidents, based on patient susceptibility and the nature of the exposure.