Infection prevention is a constantly changing field. Tremendous challenges face the infection preventionist (IP), including new emerging and re-emerging diseases, antibiotic resistant organisms, serious; often life-threatening diseases such as C. difficile, public reporting of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) policies to limit payment for hospital-acquired conditions and complications.
Infection Control Today invited manufacturers of personal protective equipment (PPE) and antimicrobial textiles to share their perspectives on key issues relating to pandemic preparedness as well as proper donning and doffing techniques.
One of the body's tools for fighting off infection in a wound may actually slow down the healing process, according to new research by a team of Harvard University, Boston Children's Hospital, and Penn State University scientists. In a study published online in Nature Medicine on June 15, 2015, the researchers show that they can speed up wound healing in diabetic mice by preventing immune cells called neutrophils from producing structures called NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps) that trap and kill bacteria.
More than a month has passed since Ebola transmission ceased in Liberia. This hard-fought achievement is still being celebrated across the country, where nearly 11,000 people became infected with the virus and 4,800 died. Liberia is still urging communities not to let their guard down until Ebola is gone from the region. They are working closely with WHO and other partners to keep Ebola from reemerging.
Infants and children who are given prescription acid-reducing medications face a substantially higher risk of developing Clostridium difficile infection, a potentially severe colonic disorder. The findings, reported by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers, suggest that pediatricians may do more harm than good by prescribing these drugs for children who have non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms such as occasional vomiting. The study was published recently in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Blood poisoning, known as sepsis, is the most common cause of death in intensive care units, according to the National Institutes of Health. The body’s immune response to fight the infection triggers inflammation that restricts blood flow and leads to multiple organ failure. The healthcare team’s goal is to return the patient’s central venous oxygen saturation level to at least 70 percent within six hours or less, explains professor Huitian Lu of the South Dakota State University Department of Construction and Operations Management. If that doesn’t happen, “the patient mortality will be high-the first six hours are critical.”
Humans aren't the only ones who like to cruise along the waterways, so do viruses. For the first time, a map of fecal viruses traveling our global waterways has been created using modeling methods to aid in assessing water quality worldwide.
Just as militaries need to have trained, experienced soldiers ready for future wars, making sure that the immune system has enough battle-ready T cells on hand is important for fast-acting, more effective vaccines, according to Penn State researchers. In a study of immune response in mice, the researchers found that regulatory T cells -- Tregs -- are critical for the immune system's ability to remember and fight off future pathogen attacks. T cells, which are specialized types of white blood cells, play important roles in the immune system and immunological memory.
The urban mosquito that carries the dengue fever virus is hitching rides on river boats connecting the Amazonian town of Iquitos, Peru, with rural areas. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases published a study by disease ecologists at Emory University, showing how the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is normally associated with urban areas, is tapping human transportation networks to expand its range.