Infection Control News and Research

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Cepheid's Xpert Ebola diagnostic test granted FDA Emergency Use Authorization

Cepheid today announced it has received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for Xpert Ebola, a molecular diagnostic test for Ebola Zaire Virus that delivers results in less than two hours.

25 Mar 2015

WHO calls for intensification of routine immunization services in all Ebola-affected areas

A growing risk of outbreaks of measles, pertussis, and other vaccine-preventable diseases in countries affected by Ebola must be countered by urgent scaling up of routine immunization activities, according to the World Health Organization.

21 Mar 2015

New bone marrow transplant unit launched in Bangalore, India

A bone marrow transplant can mean the difference between life and death for people with blood cancers and related disorders. But many patients in India can't afford the high treatment costs, and for them a transplant is not an option. This is changing thanks to a newly launched bone marrow transplant unit at M.S. Ramaiah Medical College in Bangalore.

19 Mar 2015

Covalon announces introduction of new MediClear product line to reduce surgical site infections

Covalon Technologies Ltd, an advanced medical technologies company, today announced the introduction of its new MediClear product line designed to significantly improve patient compliance with efforts to reduce surgical site infections (SSI).

8 Mar 2015

Aggressive campaign to cut unnecessary use of antibiotics helps reduce drug-resistant bacteria

An aggressive campaign to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics has helped cut the rate of infection with a dangerous drug-resistant bacteria at The Valley Hospital by nearly 40 percent.

28 Feb 2015

ChartSpan Medical Technologies raises $1.7 million in capital round

ChartSpan Medical Technologies announced it has successfully raised a capital round of $1.7 million dollars. Since becoming the most downloaded iPhone and iPad medical app in the U.S. in December, ChartSpan continues to disrupt healthcare with innovative technology empowering patients to manage their own healthcare records and information.

27 Feb 2015

Deadly C. difficile affected almost half a million in the U.S over one year

The deadly bug Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infected more than 450,000 people in the U.S in a single year, according to new research funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

26 Feb 2015

Training modules for emergency department staff to treat infectious disease patients available on CDC's website

Four Web-based training modules developed by Johns Hopkins Medicine for emergency department personnel who treat patients with infectious diseases are now available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

18 Feb 2015

Davita Kidney Care exceeds its own previous immunization rates for dialysis patients, teammates

DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services, today announced that the company is a leader in immunizations for kidney care providers and has exceeded its own previous immunization rates for both dialysis patients and teammates.

6 Feb 2015

Study: 45% of RTI patients inappropriately prescribed antibiotics in outpatient settings

A new study found 45 percent of patients with respiratory tract infections (RTIs) were inappropriately prescribed antibiotics in an outpatient practice of general internal medicine and family medicine.

5 Feb 2015

Low staff vaccination rates put vulnerable populations at risk of getting influenza

Influenza is associated with as many as 7,300 deaths annually in nursing home residents, but the vaccination rate for nursing home staff is only 54 percent, according to a study in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

28 Jan 2015

Bathing critically ill patients with chlorhexidine wipes does not prevent ICU infections

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have found that bathing critically ill patients with disposable chlorhexidine cloths did not decrease the incidence of health care-associated infections when compared to less expensive nonantimicrobial cloths, according to a study appearing online in JAMA this week.

22 Jan 2015

Signostics gets FDA 510k clearance for handheld bladder scanner

Medical device company, Signostics, announced today it has clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to launch the SignosRT Bladder, the company’s new hand-held bladder scanner.

15 Jan 2015

Ebola epidemic in Liberia could be eliminated by June, finds study

The Ebola epidemic in Liberia could likely be eliminated by June if the current high rate of hospitalization and vigilance can be maintained, according to a new model developed by ecologists at the University of Georgia and Pennsylvania State University.

13 Jan 2015

Current flu vaccine still offers protection, says Loyola infectious disease specialist

In baseball, three strikes and you're out. The most common annual vaccine targets three strains of flu virus. This year, two vaccine strains are spot on and successfully matched. One strain is partially mismatched, but still believed to offer partial coverage for that strain. The current flu vaccine is still in the game and, more importantly, keeping people well and on the playing field, says a Loyola University Medical Center infectious disease specialist.

8 Jan 2015

Outbreaks of infectious diseases offer lessons for critical care providers

Outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as Ebola in West Africa, offer insight for how healthcare professionals can respond more effectively to current and future challenges, according to editors of the American Journal of Critical Care.

5 Jan 2015

Hospital treatment far from home: an interview with Paul Lindsell, Managing Director at MindMetre Research

This is a generally accepted piece of received wisdom amongst clinicians and care professionals, which MindMetre validated through a series of qualitative interviews that preceded our quantitative study.

21 Dec 2014

Joerns RecoverCare introduces unique mattress coverlet system to support wound care

Joerns RecoverCare has launched ClimateCare; a unique mattress coverlet system that provides microclimate management. When used in conjunction with a pressure redistribution mattress, ClimateCare is designed to address the root causes of tissue breakdown through the management of temperature and moisture (microclimate) at the interface between the patient's skin and the therapy support surface.

21 Dec 2014

Bloodstream infections differ based on distance from the equator, health care spending

Where you live affects the type of bacteria that cause bloodstream infections, according to researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and an international team of investigators. The closer you live to the equator, the greater the likelihood of a bloodstream infection caused by a group of bacteria called Gram-negative bacteria, which thrive in warm and moist environments, compared to another group of bacteria referred to as Gram-positive bacteria.

19 Dec 2014

Simple rectal swab cultures can thwart drug-resistant E. coli in patients undergoing TRUSBx procedures

Some infections after prostate biopsy due to drug-resistant Escherichia coli can be thwarted by simple rectal swab cultures prior to the procedure. The cultures test for antibiotic-resistant E. coli, and the findings are used to direct the selection of antimicrobial prophylaxis used for the procedure, according to Rhode Island Hospital researchers.

9 Dec 2014