Prevention

Sterile Processing Week runs from October 9 through 15. Julie Williamson, of the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association, explains why appreciation goes a long way with this vital group of hospital professionals.

You spend a great deal of time in your job telling individuals what you need them to do to prevent and control infections. They may hear you, but are they listening?

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending August 19.

Ambassador Deborah Birx, MD, told Infection Control Today® exclusively, “Every mistake that we made with COVID-19 in January and February of 2020, repeated in real time with monkeypox.”

Ambassador Deborah Birx said in an exclusive interview with ICT® that there are “extraordinary structural barriers in the US to access” medical care. Individuals may have insurance, but they cannot access care.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed recommendations which neither control or prevent a rapidly evolving and disabling disease, COVID-19. However, we must maintain effective efforts to control spread of the virus.

Using an ultrasound transducer may look easy, but it is a highly specialized skill, and to use a transducer requires education, accountability, and competency checks to occur regularly.

The first day as an infection preventionist can be nerve wracking, but what happens when The Joint Commission is there the same day?

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending August 12.

Ambassador Deborah Birx, MD, infectious disease expert, and a former director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, weigh in on that agency's significantly changed quarantine and distancing guidelines.

Using ultrasound transducers is often necessary in the emergency department, but too often the proper procedures to protect against health care associated infections are not followed, and clinicians are worried.

Identified in at least 35 people in eastern China, a new type of henipavirus, Langya virus, is suspected to have infected shrews before jumping to humans.

Infection Control Today® asked Matt Pullen, MD, the questions from our readers about the NY polio patient.

A carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) cluster was identified and stopped because of due diligence of the infection preventionists at an acute care facility in Louisiana.

It is apparent we cannot simply vaccinate our way back to normal. We must also encourage the public to adopt public health strategies, including the wearing of N95 masks, avoiding close contact with strangers, and improved indoor ventilation. Now, more than ever, infection preventionists are needed to turn this tide around.

The declaration will allow more funds for control of and resources for the disease.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending August 5.

Adding staff is not the cure-all the CMS hopes it is. Higher wages and better government financial assistance would help, but fixing the system is not going to be easy.

Standardizing disinfectant wipes across multiple facilities requires comparing active ingredients, kill claims, and dwell times.

With these declarations, the areas can use funds to help with preparedness and response to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Foodborne illnesses can be prevented by breaking the chain of infection and eliminating elements of the kitchen from becoming reservoirs for pathogens to flourish.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending July 29.

The discrepancy between the regulatory bodies has caused a controversy creating an environment that is not conducive to discussions between practitioners and their suppliers.

CRE cases are considered a US public health threat, and, concerningly, a small, but notable proportion of CRE cases occur in patients without traditional health care risk factors.

This is the third in a series of articles based on ICT®'s exclusive interview with Oliver D. Kripfgans, PhD, FAIUM, about ultrasound transducer disinfection, and the consequences of using the incorrect type.

Despite the lessons learned from SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, monkeypox is still spreading worldwide, and those lessons do not seem to be halting its progress. The WHO hopes to change that.

COVID-19, and the emotional and physical toll it caused, reached all corners of the globe. At a nursing home in Hawaii, the staff describes how the pandemic has affected them.

With the World Health Organization declaring monkeypox a global emergency, Infection Control Today® looks at what lessons SARS-CoV-2 gave but were not followed, and what could be next.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today’s highlights for the week ending July 22.

Environmental sources of pathogen organisms can sometimes be difficult to narrow down in a health care facility. One possible source of transmission is the laundry used, and not maintaining strict cleanliness attention can put both patients and workers at risk.