Category: Infection Control

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.

HAIs continued to rise in 2021, CDC finds

The incidence of several common healthcare-associated infections reported by U.S. hospitals increased in 2021, new CDC data shows. 

Phoenix Children’s creates infectious diseases division

Phoenix Children’s created a new division of infectious diseases and appointed Dr. Wassim Ballan as chief.