Feature|Videos|March 6, 2026
Touch-Free Stethoscope Barriers Improve Workflow and Reduce HAI Risk Across Care Settings
Experts discuss how touch-free stethoscope diaphragm barriers offer aseptic protection at the point of care. Unlike wipes, barriers prevent contamination rather than partially reducing it. Success depends on workflow integration, strategic placement, and hand hygiene alignment, making infection prevention practical in emergency departments, intensive care units, operating rooms, and outpatient settings.
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A 2026 IDWeek poster details how respiratory cultures and whole genome sequencing clarified a NICU MRSA outbreak, with targeted prevention measures followed by at least 6 months without additional bacteremias or related respiratory clusters.
Researchers recovered a carbapenemase-producing organism from the shaft of a hospital drain auger, prompting calls for standardized reprocessing protocols and further investigation into maintenance equipment as a potential source of environmental dissemination.
A poster presented at IDWeek was a systematic review of 35 studies that found rare transmission of viral hemorrhagic fever to health care personnel in high-income countries and highlighted the need for standardized exposure definitions to guide response.
Kimberley Brown, PharmD, Head of U.S. Medical Affairs at ViiV Healthcare discusses the evolution of HIV care and how innovative long-acting injectables are expanding options across HIV treatment and prevention.
Clean Hospitals President Alexandra Peters, PhD, explains how training, meaningful support, and stronger collaboration with infection prevention teams can empower environmental services staff and strengthen patient safety.
A proposed hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau raises concerns about delaying newborn protection. This commentary examines the ethical obligations of researchers and the consequences of weakening established prevention efforts.
For International Infection Prevention Week, Infection Control Today explores how prevention connects hospital departments with everyday community life and why infection preventionists (IPs), sterile processing department (SPD), professionals, and environmental services (EVS) teams deserve lasting support.
This week in infection prevention: Kenya's imported Ebola case showed how fever screening can miss an ill traveler, Florida's dengue outbreak reached 296 local cases, and new guidance underscores that missed surfaces and shared equipment fuel AMR risk. Our weekly roundup covers these stories and more.
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