Category: Infection Control

Sharp drop in patient safety seen amid pandemic: 3 findings

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, metrics tracking healthcare-associated infections and other complications of care indicate significant deterioration of multiple patient safety measures, according to an analysis published Feb. 12 by The New England J…

VA hospital warns 4,000 patients of infection risk tied to unsterile equipment

Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, Ga., is providing free testing for blood-borne infections to more than 4,000 patients after learning they may have been exposed to improperly sterilized medical equipment, local CBS affiliate WMAZ reports. 

White-tailed deer becoming virus reservoir ‘a top concern right now,’ CDC official says

White-tailed deer are easily infected by the coronavirus, with some experts now concerned they may become a reservoir for the virus to mutate and spread, The New York Times reported Feb. 7. 

Consistent indoor mask use cuts COVID-19 risk, real-world CDC study finds

People who report they always wear a mask or respirator in indoor public settings were less likely to test positive for COVID-19 than people who did not, according to the CDC’s Feb. 4 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

‘The damage is done’: Experts warn about superbugs, antibiotic overuse amid pandemic

Increased misuse and overuse of antibiotics amid the pandemic may be exacerbating antibiotic resistance, according to a Jan. 28 report by National Geographic.

Hospitals are asking Leapfrog to lower hand hygiene standards — Here’s why it won’t

The leader of Leapfrog, as well as the head of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, discussed current hand hygiene protocols and compliance, and why hospitals may not be meeting the standards.

Oregon health officials report COVID-19 outbreak at state hospital

The Oregon Health Authority reported a COVID-19 outbreak affecting 18 employees at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria in its latest weekly surveillance summary published Jan. 26. 

Harvard, Stanford physicians call for universal use of N95s in hospitals

Hospitals should take more aggressive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals amid the omicron driven surge, physicians from Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University and Stanford (Calif.) University wrote in an editorial piece publishe…

Antimicrobial resistance accounts for more global deaths than HIV, malaria, study finds

An estimated 1.27 million people around the world died directly from antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections in 2019, according to a study published Jan. 19 in The Lancet. Antimicrobial resistance was also a factor in nearly 5 million deaths …

Louisiana reports first C. auris cases

University Medical Center New Orleans, part of LCMC Health, reported Louisiana’s first two known cases of Candida auris, a deadly, drug-resistant fungus, on Jan. 18,  according to nola.com.