Infection Preventionists Play Key Role in Emergency Management

Infection Control Today celebrates 30 years of covering the people, science, and challenges shaping infection prevention with another milestone: its first digital magazine, featuring outbreak analysis, biosecurity, respiratory testing, sterile processing, professional leadership, conference coverage, and more.

During National EVS Week, appreciation matters, but partnership matters more. Environmental services professionals bring infection prevention expertise and a unique understanding of the health care environment that can help identify barriers, improve cleaning and disinfection practices, and ultimately protect patients.

How do you celebrate an infection that never happened? That's one of the unusual challenges infection preventionists share with teachers. Both can spend their careers changing outcomes they may never see. Both educate people who don't always want to listen. Both are second-guessed. Both face burnout. And both must somehow keep remembering why they started.

At AHE Exchange26, experts revealed how surprisingly small gaps in linen education can contribute to waste, higher costs, and potential patient safety risks. The solution begins with something simple: helping everyone who touches health care linen understand why their role matters.

Merck has announced that the FDA accepted its supplemental application to expand ENFLONSIA's indication to include children younger than 2 years who remain at increased risk for severe RSV disease during their second RSV season.

Reusable lead aprons and thyroid collars are used daily throughout hospitals, but often fall outside standardized cleaning protocols. Infection prevention and perioperative experts discuss contamination risks, ATP testing, operational barriers, and the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to strengthen environmental hygiene and reduce the risk of HAIs.

Claryx has emerged from stealth with funding and a genomic surveillance platform designed to help hospitals identify hidden transmission chains, trace infection sources, and intervene before outbreaks grow.

This week on Infection Control Today, the stories ranged from emerging drug-resistant pathogens circling the globe to a landmark decade of surface science—all against a backdrop of ongoing outbreaks and a hard look at what the profession owes its own workforce.