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For more than 80 years, the humble chicken egg has quietly powered one of modern medicine’s most vital defenses: vaccines. Even in an age of recombinant DNA, mRNA platforms, and cell-based innovations, more than 80% of the world’s influenza vaccines still begin in an egg. The process is time-tested, affordable, and reliable—but also imperfect. read this to learn more.

Much is discussed about stethoscopes, the "third arm" of clinicians, but what about the risk of spreading health care-associated infections?

With hospitals across the country accelerating investments in automation, why does human competence remain vital?

Dental and oral surgery clinics are often overlooked in infection prevention programs, yet lapses can have serious consequences. Strengthening surveillance, sterilization, and patient safety practices is critical to reducing surgical site infections.

Two unsettling zoonotic developments are testing the limits of infection prevention and public health vigilance in the US. In Washington State, a resident has tested preliminarily positive for avian influenza, marking the first human case in 9 months. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, researchers have documented the nation’s first fatality linked to alpha-gal syndrome, which is a tick-borne meat allergy caused by the bite of the lone star tick.

Elevating IPs into executive leadership isn't symbolic; it's a strategic imperative.

The November/December 2025 issue of Infection Control Today® dives into overlooked risks, breakthrough technologies, and the people driving innovation across IPC, EVS, and sterile processing. From bacteriophage therapy to burnout prevention, automation to UV regulation—it’s a powerful close to the year. Read the issue now: https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/journals/infection-control-today #InfectionPrevention #Healthcare #InfectionControl #EVS #IPC #PatientSafety #ICT

Oman is earning international attention for transforming hospital environmental hygiene into a national success story. Through the Clean Hospitals initiative, updated cleaning contracts, and workforce training, the Ministry of Health is showing how a unified approach to cleaning, auditing, and accountability can reduce infection risk and raise global standards in health care hygiene.

After nearly a decade of research and regulatory review, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that Micrillon, a polymer-based antimicrobial additive developed by UMF Corporation, is not a pesticide—clearing the way for new infection prevention applications. In this interview, UMF President George Clarke and Editorial Advisory Board member Heather Stoltzfus, MPH, RN, CIC, discussed how this rechargeable technology could redefine cleaning, sustainability, and surface safety across healthcare and hospitality settings.

We all know that preventing employee fatigue and burnout requires a multipronged and ongoing effort to address the issue. There’s probably not a company in this nation that hasn’t experienced exhausted and frustrated employees, and the struggle is real to keep everybody engaged and motivated.

What's it like to be an infection prevention associate and an MPH Student? Read this to hear one person's point of view.

Sherrie is back! In this The Clean Bite, she discusses single-use vs Resusable Dental Supplies. Ultrasonic scaler tips, burs, and endodontic files are often reused despite being marketed as single-use. How many patients are at risk from shortcuts in reprocessing?

Conversations about HIV and sexual health can still feel uncomfortable, but they don’t have to. In a candid interview, Hope & Help medical director Cariane Morales Matos, MD, explains why open, stigma-free discussions about HIV prevention and PrEP are essential for protecting teens, families, and communities.

"Hospital tray lines operate at high speed to feed hundreds of patients daily. Staff members plate food, cover trays, and load them onto mobile carts that navigate elevators, hallways, and patient rooms. Each of these steps introduces opportunities for contamination."

I’ve known Monica and Tim forever, which is why their sepsis battles aren’t just “patient stories” to me. They’re a reminder that infection hides in ordinary days, and that vigilance, source control, and smart antibiotics save lives.

Infection prevention may be built on evidence, but it thrives on empathy. During a recent Infection Control Today roundtable, in this third installment, veteran infection preventionists shared how emotional intelligence, communication, and systems thinking—not just clinical expertise—define the profession’s future.

Just months after many dismissed H5N1 as a past concern, the “bird flu” has returned with force—killing millions of birds, infecting mammals from cows to cats, and raising alarms among scientists who warn the virus is edging closer to human adaptation.

In a postpandemic health system, infection preventionists are hired for certifications but kept for soft skills. In this second installment of ICT's roundtable, veteran IPs chart the shift from task-doer to systems leader, calling for smarter staffing, structured onboarding, and relationship-first programs to beat burnout and turnover.

Infection prevention’s future will be won with mentorship, soft skills, and honest collaboration—not just guidelines. In a candid roundtable, veteran IPs shared how to steady first-year practitioners: pair them with real mentors, teach time management and tough conversations, and build cultures that value “let me confirm” over guesswork.

This 6-part series will chronicle the journey of 2 infection prevention leaders, Brenna Doran, PhD, MA, ACC, CIC; and Jessica Swain, MBA, MLT, CIC, IHI, as they partnered to research and shed light on the critical issue of infection prevention staffing in the current health care landscape. From the initial spark of an idea to the publication of an impactful article, a research manuscript, and a podcast, this series will offer an insider’s view of their collaborative process and the profound implications of their findings. This third article in the series will focus on...

If you’ve ever been asked to track flu shots and handle a chemical splash in the same breath, you’ve met the IP–OH blur. Infection prevention and occupational health often intersect—but their missions differ. Knowing where each begins ensures safer patients, safer staff, and smoother responses.

When a nationwide blood-culture bottle shortage squeezed hospitals, a Stanford-led team turned to machine learning by building and openly sharing tools that predict which patients are most likely to have bacteremia and when a culture can be safely deferred. The simplest version works as a quick bedside score, no new software required.

A Bangladesh research team unveiled a suitcase-sized, point-of-care test that detects Nipah virus from respiratory patients in about 30 minutes, showing accuracy comparable to RT-PCR, and designed to bring rapid diagnosis and outbreak control to rural, low-resource settings.

From hand-hygiene audits to the SHEA Board of Trustees, the professional path of Alexander Sundermann, DrPH, CIC, FAPIC, AL-CIP, traces the arc of modern infection prevention. The former hospital IP—now a University of Pittsburgh assistant professor—pairs frontline experience with genomic epidemiology to turn sequencing into outbreak-stopping action.

When Hurricane Helene flooded a North Carolina facility and sparked an IV fluid shortage, Duke’s stewardship network turned crisis into practice change—rapidly shifting eligible patients to highly bioavailable oral antibiotics and boosting PO use by 5.6% across participating hospitals.

Hidden in plain sight, cubicle curtains are among healthcare’s most-touched—and least regulated—surfaces. Vague “change when soiled” guidance leaves dangerous gaps, as dusty mesh headers and inconsistent replacement cycles quietly seed transmission, underscoring the need for quarterly, trackable swaps and evidence-based standards.

At IDWeek in Atlanta, former CDC director Tom Frieden unveiled a crisp playbook for infection prevention—“See. Believe. Create.”—arguing it can help hospitals spot outbreaks sooner, reverse drug resistance, and drive HAIs toward zero. He paired the message with a 7-1-7 target: 7 days to find an outbreak, 1 to report, 7 to control.