Personal Protective Equipment

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending March 23, 2025.

A Candida auris outbreak in a burn intensive care unit (BICU) in Illinois has highlighted the persistent challenges of infection control in high-risk health care settings. Despite rigorous containment efforts, this multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen continued to spread, underscoring the need for enhanced prevention strategies, environmental monitoring, and genomic surveillance.

Dr Noah Greenspan discusses the evolving understanding of long COVID, current treatment strategies, diagnostic challenges, and the critical need for research and awareness in post-viral syndromes.

Danielle Banks, a UK-based veterinary nurse, discusses the growing importance of infection prevention in animal care, tackling antimicrobial resistance, hand hygiene, and adapting human health care protocols.

The growing H5N1 avian flu outbreak threatens public health and food security. Without urgent action, mutations could spark human-to-human transmission, creating the next global pandemic.

Reusable health care textiles enhance infection prevention, reduce waste, and strengthen supply chains. Hygienically clean textiles offer a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to disposable PPE, ensuring patient safety and environmental responsibility.

Reusable PPE offers a cost-effective, sustainable solution for health care, reducing waste and improving supply chain resilience. Overcoming adoption barriers requires education, policy support, and industry-wide collaboration.

A silent invader lurks in health care settings, exploiting human oversights to spread. Discover how vigilance, hand hygiene, and disinfection can stop infections before they begin.

The 160th CDS Midwinter Meeting showcased dental advancements, scientific courses, and infection control discussions, drawing nearly 25,000 attendees and highlighting innovations, oral pathology, and patient safety strategies.

At the 2025 Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, Dr. Marie Fluent passionately discussed infection control, emphasizing hand hygiene, waterlines, and the critical role of vaccinations in dental settings.

Proper glove use is crucial in health care settings to prevent infections. Guidelines from TJC, CDC, and WHO stress correct selection, usage, and disposal to minimize health care–associated infections (HAIs) and cross-contamination risks. Infection preventionists (IPs) play a key role in educating staff, enforcing compliance, and improving patient safety through standardized glove practices.

The US exit from the UNHRC and cuts to UNRWA funding jeopardize global health, humanitarian aid, and pandemic preparedness, isolating America and endangering millions worldwide.

This week's edition of Hot Topics in IPC covers the latest in Trump's executive orders and in avian flu.

The US CDC's sudden cutoff from WHO threatens global health security, leaving infection preventionists scrambling to track deadly outbreaks like Marburg virus, mpox, and avian flu.

Norovirus and avian influenza outbreaks require infection preventionists to enhance hygiene, train staff, implement PPE use, and ensure effective disinfection to protect health care workers, patients, and facilities.

The US withdrawal from WHO threatens global health collaboration, weakening infection control, disease surveillance, and funding for vulnerable nations, undermining decades of progress in combating infectious diseases worldwide.

Read about the CDC’s Health Advisory. The advisory emphasizes the significance of early detection, infection control measures, and interdisciplinary collaboration to reduce risks, guarantee timely treatment, and prevent further spread.

"I was hoping we had learned from COVID-19 that a lot of transmission happens between people who don't believe that they have an illness and others," Deborah Birx, MD, told Infection Control Today.

Read the latest on the rise of H5N1 avian flu. What happens if it combines with COVID-19? Experts answer the most pressing questions.

Public health mandates, such as lockdowns, masking, and vaccination, balance liberty and safety, ensuring critical protections during pandemics like COVID-19 while fostering long-term survival through science.

Veterinarians, technicians, and veterinarian infection preventionists face risks from H5N1 avian flu when handling farm animals or exposed wildlife. Learn key prevention strategies, PPE recommendations, and emerging challenges.

Richard Webby, PhD, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre or Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, discusses the evolving dynamics of H5N1 avian flu, its variants, and the low risk to humans while emphasizing vigilance among health care professionals.

Cameron Memorial Community Hospital streamlined pharmaceutical waste management through signage, training, and collaboration, cutting waste nearly in half and saving costs while boosting staff competencies and accountability.

Explore why CMS must expand COVID-19, influenza, and RSV reporting to include hospital-onset infections, health care worker cases, and ER trends, driving proactive prevention and patient safety.

Gloves, masks, and surface disinfectants are infection prevention powerhouses. Equip your practice with these essentials to protect patients and staff this cold and influenza (flu) season.