title: Hygiene campaign autumn 2009--fewer cases of infection at the emergency centre?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prompted by the H1N1 influenza epidemic in autumn 2009, Norwegian health authorities launched a campaign for better hygiene. We wanted to investigate whether there was any change in the out-of-hours contact rate for infectious diseases during this campaign.
  
  
  METHODS
  The material consisted of remuneration claims from all doctors doing out-of-hours work during the years 2006-2009. The contact rates for nine diagnoses of infectious illness in autumn 2009 were compared with a corresponding mean from the years 2006-2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The contact rate for influenza was ten times higher in autumn 2009 than in the three preceding years. During the same period there was a significant reduction in conjunctivitis (contact rate ratio 0.74), otitis (0.73), sinusitis (0.70), throat infections (0.79), pneumonia (0.70) and intestinal infections (0.82). There were small changes in the contact rates for acute upper respiratory tract infections and urinary tract infections, but in December there was also a clear reduction in acute upper respiratory tract infections (0.61).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reduced contact rates for infectious diseases may be ascribed to an effect of the campaign, but other factors may also have contributed to this result.
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Emergency Primary Health Care, PO Box 7810, 5020 Bergen, Norway. hogne.sandvik@isf.uib.no
authors.forename: Hogne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sandvik
authors.forename: Steinar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hunskår
mesh_terms: D039602:After-Hours Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control