Hand Hygiene

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).

Researchers show that public education campaigns regarding hand hygiene are effective in altering individual hand hygiene habits during the peak periods of influenza transmission.

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.

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.

Contracting an infection is the least desired outcome for a patient during or following a hospital stay. Through the use of a stringent program of training, education and practices, the University of Miami Hospital has achieved and maintained exceptionally low infection rates for 2009.

Deb SBS announces that its InstantFOAM® Alcohol Hand Sanitizer is now EcoLogo certified.

Xhale Innovations (XI) announces that it will demonstrate its hand hygiene system, HyGreen®, at the American Hospital Association Leadership Summit July 22-24, 2010 in San Diego.

One of the most common causes of preventable healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) is poor hand hygiene. iScrub Lite 1.5, an iPhone and iPod touch application developed at the University of Iowa (UI), makes monitoring hand hygiene compliance more efficient and accurate.

A manufacturer and distributor in Puerto Rico is receiving harsh FDA punishment for distributing hand sanitizer as an unapproved new drug due to the use of the active ingredient benzalkonium chloride, which is not recognized as safe and effective for OTC antifungal drugs.

U.S. Marshals have seized $230,000 worth of hand sanitizing gel made by Puerto Rico Beverage Inc. of Maunabo and distributed by Lord Pharmaceutical, LLC.

A seasoned infection preventionist discusses issues that weigh on her mind.