HAIs

Hung Cheung, MD, of the Alliance to Prevent Legionnaires' Disease, says preventing illness requires upstream water management, stronger surveillance, and earlier public health intervention.

Sepsis diagnoses are increasing, but are health systems measuring true clinical deterioration or changes in documentation? A new perspective explores how real-time surveillance and coordinated workflows can improve sepsis response and patient outcomes.

How much infection prevention training should volunteers receive before participating in medical missions? A new perspective in Infection Control Today follows one college student's experience volunteering in rural Cambodia, where he was asked to perform clinical tasks well beyond his training. Years later, he realized just how many infection prevention risks he had unknowingly encountered. The article explores what his experience reveals about volunteer preparation, resource-limited care, and why basic infection prevention education should be considered essential for anyone participating in clinical outreach. Read the full story.

Gian Maria Rossolini, MD, discusses antimicrobial resistance, global surveillance, emerging drug-resistant pathogens, and how clinical microbiology can help improve patient outcomes and public health.

The latest Ebola outbreak is raising new challenges for global public health. Existing Ebola vaccines were designed for a different viral strain, leaving health care workers and communities to rely on supportive care while researchers test promising new treatments and vaccine candidates. Learn what this means for infection prevention professionals.

How can you prevent Cyclospora infection? This article outlines practical food safety measures, symptom recognition, diagnostic recommendations, and prevention strategies for patients and health care professionals during the current multistate Cyclospora outbreak.

Cyclospora infections are increasing across the US. This article explains how Cyclospora cayetanensis spreads, common symptoms, current outbreak investigations, and the role IPs and IPC professionals play in surveillance, diagnosis, reporting, and public health collaboration.

Why do outbreaks involving Cyclospora, Ebola, Legionnaires' disease, contaminated medical devices, and recalled consumer products matter to infection preventionists? This editorial examines the common lessons from today's emerging infectious threats and explains how surveillance, environmental safety, health care worker protection, and preparedness strengthen infection prevention and control programs across all health care settings.

A new lawsuit alleges a contaminated Olympus duodenoscope transmitted a VRE infection during an ERCP, renewing concerns about endoscope reprocessing, device design, biofilm, and infection prevention and control (IPC) practices. What should IPC professionals know?

Think you know your infection control acronyms? Test your expertise with our ICT Expert Acronym Challenge! From CLABSI to VRE, this 20-question puzzle covers essential health care-acquired infection prevention terminology that every infection control professional should master. How many can you match correctly? Try the challenge now! Perfect for IPC specialists, infection prevention coordinators, and health care epidemiologists!

Health care–associated infections are not prevented by policies alone. They are prevented when health care professionals understand why infection prevention practices matter. This commentary explores how combining evidence-based practices with education, competency, and a clear rationale transforms compliance into ownership. When staff understand the science behind hand hygiene, PPE, sterilization, and surveillance, they are better equipped to make informed decisions, adapt to changing situations, and engage patients and families in preventing HAIs.

Emerging research shows the human microbiome plays a critical role in preventing health care-associated infections, antimicrobial resistance, and dysbiosis, offering new opportunities for infection prevention and patient care.

A Connecticut man's ear infection allegedly progressed to a bone infection and brain abscess, highlighting how routine infections can occasionally become life-threatening when symptoms worsen or spread.

Emerging breath analysis technologies could provide faster, less invasive detection of bacterial infections and help clinicians monitor antibiotic response, though significant research and regulatory hurdles remain before widespread clinical adoption.

What determines whether an Ebola outbreak explodes? According to a new CDC model, it may be less about the virus and more about how long it spreads before it's recognized. Early detection remains one of the most powerful tools in infection prevention.

As health care-associated infections remain a major patient safety challenge, health care providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and medical device companies are investing in advanced sterilization technologies. From AI-powered monitoring and automation to low-temperature sterilization systems for complex medical devices, the sterilization equipment market is rapidly evolving to meet growing infection prevention demands. Learn what is driving market growth, how new technologies are improving safety and efficiency, and why sterilization remains a critical component of modern health care and life sciences operations.

After identifying 2 colon surgical site infections in 2024, Orlando Health South Lake Hospital implemented a standardized perioperative checklist to improve adherence with colorectal SSI prevention practices. Presented at APIC 2026, the project increased appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis, reduced inappropriate antibiotic use, maintained 100% adherence with clean-dirty instrument protocols, and was associated with the elimination of additional colon SSIs during 2025.

At APIC2026, Monica Pogorzelska-Maziarz, PhD, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, FSHEA, FACE, of Villanova University, received the Elaine Larson Distinguished Scientist Award and reflected on mentorship, collaboration, and research that support infection preventionists across the continuum of care.

Researchers at Advocate Children's Hospital used genomic sequencing, active surveillance, and targeted infection prevention interventions to investigate and control a NICU CLABSI outbreak. Findings presented at #APIC2026 showed the cluster was not caused by a single hypervirulent MSSA strain but highlighted opportunities to strengthen hand hygiene, line maintenance, and ongoing surveillance.

A poster at the APIC Annual Conference and Exposition held from June 15 to 17, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee. After managing bloodborne pathogen exposures affecting more than 3,000 patients, Providence Health & Services developed a multidisciplinary playbook to improve preparedness, communication, and response during future large-scale events.

An APIC26 poster described a systemwide initiative at Memorial Hermann Health System that improved staff understanding, consistency, and confidence in medical device cleaning and disinfection through education, manufacturer collaboration, and hands-on demonstrations.

A quality improvement initiative at Ocean University Medical Center found that reinstating hands-on urinary catheter competency training was associated with a 46% reduction in CAUTIs and improved infection metrics.

Test your infection prevention and control knowledge with this IPC-themed crossword puzzle featuring terms and concepts related to hand hygiene, sterilization, PPE, outbreak prevention, and healthcare-associated infections. Designed for health care professionals, the puzzle offers an engaging way to reinforce key IPC principles while promoting education and awareness.

When it comes to CLABSIs, the problem is not a lack of knowledge. It is that prevention still depends too heavily on perfect execution inside imperfect systems.

How plastic‑free wipes are helping hospitals reduce waste while delivering disinfecting performance.