Prevention

I’ve known Monica and Tim forever, which is why their sepsis battles aren’t just “patient stories” to me. They’re a reminder that infection hides in ordinary days, and that vigilance, source control, and smart antibiotics save lives.

Just months after many dismissed H5N1 as a past concern, the “bird flu” has returned with force—killing millions of birds, infecting mammals from cows to cats, and raising alarms among scientists who warn the virus is edging closer to human adaptation.

Infection prevention’s future will be won with mentorship, soft skills, and honest collaboration—not just guidelines. In a candid roundtable, veteran IPs shared how to steady first-year practitioners: pair them with real mentors, teach time management and tough conversations, and build cultures that value “let me confirm” over guesswork.

This 6-part series will chronicle the journey of 2 infection prevention leaders, Brenna Doran, PhD, MA, ACC, CIC; and Jessica Swain, MBA, MLT, CIC, IHI, as they partnered to research and shed light on the critical issue of infection prevention staffing in the current health care landscape. From the initial spark of an idea to the publication of an impactful article, a research manuscript, and a podcast, this series will offer an insider’s view of their collaborative process and the profound implications of their findings. This third article in the series will focus on...

If you’ve ever been asked to track flu shots and handle a chemical splash in the same breath, you’ve met the IP–OH blur. Infection prevention and occupational health often intersect—but their missions differ. Knowing where each begins ensures safer patients, safer staff, and smoother responses.

When a nationwide blood-culture bottle shortage squeezed hospitals, a Stanford-led team turned to machine learning by building and openly sharing tools that predict which patients are most likely to have bacteremia and when a culture can be safely deferred. The simplest version works as a quick bedside score, no new software required.

A Bangladesh research team unveiled a suitcase-sized, point-of-care test that detects Nipah virus from respiratory patients in about 30 minutes, showing accuracy comparable to RT-PCR, and designed to bring rapid diagnosis and outbreak control to rural, low-resource settings.

From hand-hygiene audits to the SHEA Board of Trustees, the professional path of Alexander Sundermann, DrPH, CIC, FAPIC, AL-CIP, traces the arc of modern infection prevention. The former hospital IP—now a University of Pittsburgh assistant professor—pairs frontline experience with genomic epidemiology to turn sequencing into outbreak-stopping action.

When Hurricane Helene flooded a North Carolina facility and sparked an IV fluid shortage, Duke’s stewardship network turned crisis into practice change—rapidly shifting eligible patients to highly bioavailable oral antibiotics and boosting PO use by 5.6% across participating hospitals.

Hidden in plain sight, cubicle curtains are among healthcare’s most-touched—and least regulated—surfaces. Vague “change when soiled” guidance leaves dangerous gaps, as dusty mesh headers and inconsistent replacement cycles quietly seed transmission, underscoring the need for quarterly, trackable swaps and evidence-based standards.

At IDWeek in Atlanta, former CDC director Tom Frieden unveiled a crisp playbook for infection prevention—“See. Believe. Create.”—arguing it can help hospitals spot outbreaks sooner, reverse drug resistance, and drive HAIs toward zero. He paired the message with a 7-1-7 target: 7 days to find an outbreak, 1 to report, 7 to control.

What do schools need to prevent the spread of infectious diseases? Infection prevention experts and school staff in Nebraska present their collaboration at IDWeek2025.

California’s first locally acquired dengue case in 2023 triggered a rapid serosurveillance effort across Southern California—and IDWeek 2025 results suggest infections are underrecognized, with DENV-3 detected and widespread flavivirus cross-reactivity from West Nile virus complicating diagnosis.

Crowded waiting rooms can turn routine checkups into transmission hubs. Here’s how outpatient clinics can cut risk, starting at the front door, with smarter cleaning, hand hygiene, masks, and fewer extra visitors.

Could Dollar General be Alabama’s next vaccination hub? At IDWeek 2025, John R. Bassler, MS, and colleagues showed that strategically pairing mobile clinics with DG stores could help close stubborn geographic vaccine gaps, especially in counties with higher social deprivation where traditional providers are scarce.

Hospital-wide sequencing of 8,567 Staphylococcus aureus isolates at NYU Langone revealed that many MRSA cases stem from tight community transmission networks—not in-hospital spread. Presented at IDWeek 2025, the work pinpoints distinct clusters (young MSM/substance-use networks, long-term care residents, and children) and urges IPC strategies that bridge hospital and community.

At IDWeek 2025, a Detroit consortium reported a familiar IPC paradox in skilled nursing facilities: Staff know the basics, but practice lags. Inconsistent rub times, dwell times, and respirator seal checks point to behavior-focused training—not more slides—as the next move.

A multifaceted infection-prevention push at a tertiary rehab ICU in the Upper Midwest reversed a rise in C difficile, lifting hand-hygiene adherence from 69% to 91% and cutting the C. diff standardized infection ratio from 1.6 to 0.4 over six months, researchers reported at IDWeek 2025 in Atlanta.

New IDWeek 2025 data show who C difficile kills most: White patients, women, and people in major metros—with most deaths tied to health care exposure—underscoring how basics and smarter antibiotics remain our best levers to cut mortality.

On October 20, hospitals worldwide will pause to highlight a vital truth we all know but seldom openly acknowledge: environmental hygiene saves lives. Clean Hospitals Day 2025 offers an opportunity to unite teams, appreciate the environmental services (EVS) professionals who ensure safe care environments, and establish lasting habits that endure well beyond the celebration.

What is a day in the life of a sterile processing department technician like? Read this article by Hannah Schroeder, BSHA, CRCST, CHL, CIS, CER, to find out.

Candida auris is the pathogen that won’t take a hint—clinging to surfaces, nesting in biofilms, and outlasting rushed wipe-downs. Yet the chemistries potent enough to kill it can be punishing to people, devices, and environments. This piece tackles the tightrope: how to choose, use, and verify C auris effective disinfection without trading one risk for another.

This year’s Clean Hospitals Day (October 20, 2025) is themed Human Factors and Collaboration. Peters’ team has built free, multilingual toolkits—posters, social tiles, screensavers—“really highlighting the fact that environmental service workers are health care workers.”

Join the APIC Research Network (free for APIC members), pick your level, and commit to one survey or collaborative project this year—research for IPs, by IPs. Your idea could shape tomorrow’s practice.