News

Adding a direct acting antiviral drug to the standard treatment regimen for hepatitis C significantly increases the cure rate in the most difficult to treat patients, according to a research report published Monday in the online edition of the journal The Lancet.

Censis® Technologies, Inc., developer of Censitrac surgical instrument tracking systems, has introduced ScopeTrac, an endoscope tracking and reprocessing data management solution designed to help prevent inappropriate endoscope reprocessing.

The first salmonella lawsuit has been filed in the pair of salmonella outbreaks that has sickened 155 people in 21 states.

Kimberly-Clark Health Care has been recognized by the Premier Healthcare Alliance for its new KimVent Multi-Access Port Closed Suction System based on the product's innovation and potential to improve patient outcomes.

Dynamic Computer Corporation (DCC) announces that it was named a 2010 Michigan Innovator by the West Michigan Business Review on July 28 for its Hand-Hygiene Compliant (HHC) solution using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).

Levels of the chemical triclosan have increased in humans by an average of 50 percent since 2004, according to newly updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

An international team of scientists shows that the recent pandemic-causing H1N1 flu virus used a new biochemical trick to spread efficiently in humans.

Youth, prison inmates and individuals with multiple tattoos that cover large parts of their bodies are at higher risk of contracting hepatitis C and other bloodborne diseases, according to a University of British Columbia study.

Observing what Internet users type into Web search engines could be a unique way to conduct infectious disease surveillance, according to researchers at the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control in Solna, Sweden.

The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) said today that legislation introduced by Sen. John Kerry, "The Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control and Prevention Act," would transform the country's approach to identifying and treating chronic viral hepatitis B and C.

Prolonged catheterization is the primary risk factor for catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). Reminder systems are interventions used to prompt the removal of unnecessary urinary catheters. Prolonged catheterization is the primary risk factor for catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). Reminder systems are interventions used to prompt the removal of unnecessary urinary catheters.

Decision Resources reports that in first- and second-line treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), nearly 70 percent of surveyed infectious disease specialists and internists will use Optimer's fidaxomicin and nearly half will use Medarex/Merck's CDA1 and CDB1, one year after the launch of these agents.

Researcher finds that cross-species transmission may have less to do with virus mutation and contact rates and more to do with host similarity.

Like most infectious diseases, rabies can attack several species. However, which species are going to be infected and why turns out to be a difficult problem that represents a major gap in our knowledge of how diseases emerge.

As the medical community searches for better vaccines and ways to deliver them, a University of Rochester scientist believes he has discovered a new approach to boosting the bodys response to vaccinations. Richard P. Phipps, PhD, found that the same molecules used in drugs that treat diabetes also stimulate B cells in the immune system, pushing them to make antibodies for protection against invading microorganisms.

Detailed pictures published today reveal how a new type of experimental antibiotic can kill bacteria that are already resistant to existing treatments. The findings could ultimately help scientists to develop new antibiotics to tackle the bacteria responsible for many hospital and community-acquired infections.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) says it is encouraged by the final rule announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

ICU Medical, Inc., a manufacturer of disposable medical connection systems for use in vascular therapy applications, today confirmed that it has received FDA 510-k clearance for the Neutron Neutral-Pressure Needleless Connector.

Now that the infection prevention and control community has had some time to learn about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)s concerns regarding positive-displacement needleless connectors and the possible link to bloodstream infections (BSIs) and patient mortality, the question seems to be, now what?

Recommendations focus on innovation, regulatory predictability, and patient safety as related to medical devices.