Is infection control an academic study?

This editorial aims to answer the question of whether infection control is an academic specialty. By considering the consequences of a lack of infecti on control in terms of patient morbidity and mortality and hence cost, it i s easy to establish the importance of the area. Infection control embraces not only developing policies for preventing the physical spread of a microo rganism but also prophylactic therapy such as vaccination and therapeutic m easures such as antibiotics. Infection control not only applies to localize d infection in hospital due to antibiotic resistant microbes but also to th e community. Bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori and Chlamydia pneumoniae and the viruses Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, human lymphotropic virus type 1, Epstein-Barr viruses and human papilloma virus have been implicated in dise ases not previously thought to have an infectious origin. Coping with these problems is clearly an academic area.