Early signs suggest flu season may peak early in the U.S. this year, though health experts caution the upcoming holiday season could spur another uptick in activity.
Category: Infection Control
COVID-19 can spread from dead bodies, research suggests
Emerging research suggests the virus that causes COVID-19 can persist in the bodies of deceased patients, potentially posing an infection risk for healthcare workers, The New York Times reported Dec. 15.
4 themes for successful infection prevention amid a pandemic: Study
After evaluating intensive care units with elevated rates of healthcare-associated infections that participated in a federal quality improvement program, a study published Nov. 21 in BMJ Open Quality identified four themes to maintain infection prevent…
Bacteria prompts Franciscan Children's to restrict water, adjust transfer use
Franciscan Children’s in Brighton, Mass., is restricting the use of water after discovering the presence of harmful bacteria in two water sources.
COVID-19 screenings upon hospital entry offer few benefits, Yale study finds
Screening all patients, visitors and healthcare workers for COVID-19 upon entrance to Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital offered limited infection control benefits amid the pandemic, according to a study published Nov. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
1 in 8 deaths tied to bacterial infections, global study finds
Bacterial infections accounted for nearly 14 percent of deaths globally in 2019, trailing heart disease as the world’s second-leading cause of death, according to a study published Nov. 21 in The Lancet.
Illness-causing fungi spreading across US
Researchers found more than 10 percent of fungal infections are diagnosed outside regions where the pathogens were known to be endemic, NBC News reported Nov. 21.
Researchers find novel RSV variant responsible for prolonged infection
Researchers found a novel respiratory syncytial virus variant responsible for prolonged infection in infants.
Researchers found C. difficile has a secret ally
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers found that Enterococcus, an antibiotic-resistant pathogen, works with Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, to change the metabolic environment in the gut so C. diff can thrive, Science Daily reported Nov…
Antibiotic-resistant infections rose 15% in 2020: 3 things to know
An estimated 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the U.S. every year, and that number is on the rise, according to research by the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease.
