News

Zimek Technologies announces the formation of the Zimek Global Health Foundation, a 501-C-3 non-profit organization created to focus public awareness of increasing infection rates and bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics, according to Jen Grosman, president of the foundation's board of directors.

Catheter Connections, Inc., a manufacturer of innovative vascular access and infection control products, announces that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company 510(k) clearance to market its DualCap product.

Econo-Keys recently introduced the EKW-M, a completely waterproof, wireless mouse designed for the healthcare community.

A recent University of Illinois (U of I) study links the application of disinfectants in recreational pools to previously published adverse health outcomes such as asthma and bladder cancer.

Tamir Biotechnology, Inc. announces that scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) confirmed that testing of two of the company's compounds Onconase (Ranpirnase), and recombinant Amphinase 2 showed positive in vitro results for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus.

The prospect of efficiently controlling HIV persistence in infected persons was the topic of a high-level, two-day meeting of researchers gathered in Vienna, Austria on the eve of AIDS 2010, the biennial international conference of HIV researchers, funders, policy-makers and advocates.

Antibiotic treatment during the liver stage of malaria generates strong protective immunity.

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announces that its lead product candidate was safe and efficacious against the highly contagious skin infection impetigo in a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial.

A new form of paper made of super-thin sheets of carbon could help fight disease-causing bacteria in applications ranging from antibacterial bandages to food packaging.

Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) announces newly published data showing that the ASP EVOTECH® Endoscope Cleaner and Reprocessor (ECR) provides an automated approach superior to the manual cleaning required when using traditional AERs.

Scientists have identified the genes necessary for making a highly potent and clinically unexploited antibiotic in the fight against multi-resistant pathogens.

Research on the population of black-legged ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease from host animals to humans, reinforces that it is important to take preventive measures when spending time outdoors.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health today reported the third death due to pertussis countywide so far this year. The announcement comes as the California Department of Public Health has expanded its vaccination recommendations amid rising numbers of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, cases throughout the state.

A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could allow persons without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines while providing improved immunization against diseases such as influenza

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is continuing to ask members of the infection prevention and control community to comment on occupational exposure to infectious agents in healthcare settings.

In the wake of the discovery that as many as 1,800 veterans may have been exposed to HIV and the hepatitis B virus while receiving dental care at the John A. Cochran Medical Center in St. Louis, an independent panel is now investigating why there were breaches of infection prevention and control practices relating to the disinfection and sterilization of instruments.

A new study suggests that using household cleaning and pesticide products could contribute to an increased risk of women developing breast cancer, as many of these products contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals or mammary gland carcinogens.

Sepsis and septic shock appear to be more common than heart attacks or pulmonary blood clots among patients having general surgery, and the death rate for patients with septic shock is approximately 34 percent within 30 days of operation, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center are using computers to identify how one strain of dangerous bacteria might mutate in the same way a champion chess player tries to anticipate an opponent's strategies.

Scientists have developed a new way to target viruses which could increase the effectiveness of antiviral drugs.

Georgia-Pacific Professional introduces the newest extension of its durable wiper product line the Brawny Industrial Surface System.

Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP) announces its newest comprehensive cleaning solution in the away-from-home washroom category, the SaniCell System.

The Ninth National Quality Colloquium is a hybrid conference and Internet event on patient safety, healthcare quality enhancement and medical errors reduction for healthcare executives, clinicians and patient-care staff.

Campaigns to increase seasonal influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers in Canada that include a combination of interventions had the greatest effect on increasing vaccine coverage, according to a study published in the July issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

A new VHA whitepaper released today by Medline Industries, Inc. details how the company used observational studies and context-based design to build human factors and social behaviors into its redesigned Foley catheter management tray.

The course, "The Infection Control Professional as an Environmentalist" will be offered Oct. 25-29, 2010 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education.

A pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduced in the U.S. 10 years ago appears to reduce pneumonia and serious associated complications, such as blood infections, in the vaccine's target range, children less than a year old, according to new research.

A research project to identify all the surface proteins of USA300the most common community-associated strain of the methicillin-resistant form of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)has resulted in the identification and isolation of a plentiful new toxin that laboratory studies indicate is a potent killer of human immune cells.

In a new campaign, "I Believe in Zero CLABSIs," the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has teamed with patient safety expert Peter Pronovost, MD, of Johns Hopkins, to mobilize infection preventionists to prove that prevention is possible.