News

Vaccine scares may do more harm than previously believed to a population's "herd immunity."

Researcher discovers existing drugs can potentially target the disease's ability to spread.

New research shows that individuals with mild H1N1 infection may go undetected using standard diagnostic criteria.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says it has filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to issue a final rule regulating the chemicals triclosan and triclocarban, which are commonly found in antibacterial soaps.

Delivery to the Strategic National Stockpile of the first 1 million doses of the nations first smallpox vaccine for certain immune-compromised populations is now complete, the result of a Project BioShield contract.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announces today that it has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for Spectra VRE, a test designed to screen for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).

Healthcare-associated catheter-related bloodstream infections (HA-BSIs) remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S.

Media reports of outbreaks and infections caused by unsafe injection practices in healthcare facilities especially in outpatient settings seem to confirm the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics that since 1999, more than 125,000 U.S. patients have received letters alerting them of potential exposure to infection with hepatitis viruses or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to unsafe injection practices such as the reuse of syringes.

ICT turned to members of industry to determine what they believe is the single most important thing that clinicians can do to prevent needlesticks, sharps injuries and other percutaneous injuries. They also share how their technology helps prevent these types of injuries.

Researchers have found that an enzyme in the bacteria that causes cholera uses a previously unknown mechanism in providing the bacteria with energy.

As bed turn rates decline, the summer months give environmental service departments time to recharge and prepare for the next flu season.

Pharmacy OneSource announces a complimentary Webinar, "New Research on Preventing Hospital Infection," presented by Betsy McCaughey, PhD.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is offering its Professional Development Webinar Series, "The Power of Influence," as two Webinars to be held in August.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) announces that it has extended its deadline for participation in the 2010 MRSA Prevalence Survey until Sept. 1, 2010. APIC says that the data derived from the study will be used to help drive greater awareness of the need for infection prevention resources.

Patients transported via helicopter to a hospital from another healthcare facility are no more likely to test positive for the MRSA infection than those flown into the hospital from an accident site, home or other non-healthcare facility, according to a study conducted by Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) emergency personnel.

A revised clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), "Head Lice," published in the August print issue of Pediatrics (published online July 26), clarifies and updates protocols for diagnosis and treatment, and provides guidance for the management of children with head lice in the school setting.

An examination of hospital complication rates of bariatric surgery for more than 15,000 patients in Michigan finds that the frequency of serious complications is relatively low and is inversely associated with hospital and surgeon procedural volume, according to a study in the July 28 issue of JAMA.

A year-long beach study led by a team of University of Miami researchers suggests that swimmers at sub-tropical beaches face an increased risk of illness. The multi-disciplinary team examined the risk of illness that beachgoers face when exposed to recreational marine water at sub-tropical beaches with no known source of pollution or contamination.

With municipal water in the United States and across the globe requiring disinfection to eradicate microbes such as cryptosporidium and giardia, new analysis from research firm Frost & Sullivan indicates that the ultraviolet water and wastewater disinfection systems market earned revenues of $388.3 million in 2008, and estimates this to reach $629.8 million in 2015.

Dror Rosengarten, MD, of the Institute of Pulmonology at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, and colleagues, reported on a cluster of pseudo-infections in patients in a bronchoscopy unit who had Burkholderia cepacia isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples

Smaller, rural hospitals may be quicker and more efficient at implementing surgical safety initiatives than their larger, urban counterparts, and are capable of providing a standard of surgical care that is at par with major hospitals that provide a comprehensive array of care services, according to an 18-month series of studies led by researchers from the University of Louisville Department of Surgery.

Items of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gowns and gloves, as well as the unwashed hands of healthcare workers, are frequently contaminated with multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, which they say is more easily transmitted than previously thought.

Can aggressive isolation practices and contact precautions make a significant impact on infection rates?

Experts in the Cochrane Collaboration's Acute Respiratory Infections Group have reviewed all trial data in the medical literature, comparing vaccinated individuals with those who are unvaccinated.

An international team of researchers comparing recently-developed methods for diagnosing tuberculosis in children in resource-poor countries has concluded that the best test for high-risk children is the microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility (MODS) technique using two gastric aspirate specimens from each child tested.

Several cases of dengue fever, a potentially fatal viral disease transmitted by the bite of urban dwelling Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, have recently been reported in the continental United States.

The mechanism by which a herpes virus invades cells has remained a mystery to scientists, but now research from Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania reveals the unusual structure of a key member of the protein complex that allows a herpes virus to invade cells.