Infection Control News and Research

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New British consortium to tackle healthcare associated infections

Just over 8% of all hospital inpatients in England develop a healthcare associated infection, with this figure rising to 23% in intensive care units. Preventing and controlling the transmission of infection is a key priority for those involved in healthcare.

16 Jul 2008

Online courses boost infection control skills that could prove vital in a pandemic

Online courses are helping staff to develop the skills they need to tackle hospital-acquired infections, such as MRSA and C.difficile, and this expertise could also prove vital in a pandemic, according to a study published in the latest issue of the UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

10 Jul 2008

Taking action against hospital acquired infections

Patients enter hospitals every day for a variety of reasons but usually without the thought of developing a new health problem. Yet every year thousands of hospitalized Americans acquire infections during hospital stays, causing risk of complications, prolonged stays and an increased burden on the health-care system.

1 Jul 2008

Simple steps can help reduce your risk of contracting potentially deadly superbug

With beach-season looming, the fitness bug is motivating Chicagoans to fill area gyms in droves, all hoping to buff up before the warm-weather season of fun gets into full swing.

11 Jun 2008

Simple infection control intervention in elementary schools reduces student absenteeism

A study from researchers at Children's Hospital Boston published in Pediatrics found that a simple infection control intervention in elementary schools - disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers - helped reduce illness-related student absenteeism.

2 Jun 2008

Mayo Clinic research shows U.S. intensive care units' prevention of pneumonia in critically-ill generally strong; identifies area of improvement

Mayo Clinic researchers found that the frequency with which critically-ill patients developed ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is approximately the same at a multidisciplinary medical center such as Mayo Clinic compared to the average VAP-risk rate for 211 hospitals in the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).

20 May 2008

Getting sick in Victoria could be a worry

In what will be great concern to Australians living in Victoria, a newly released report has found that Victoria's hospitals have failed to meet key performance indicators.

15 May 2008

Angiotech receives FDA clearance to market 5-Fluorouracil-coated central venous catheter

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its innovative 5-Fluorouracil-coated (5-FU) Central Venous Catheter (CVC) in the United States.

17 Apr 2008

Distinguishing non-TB pulmonary disease from TB

A diagnostic kit shows new promise for distinguishing between tuberculosis (TB) and its infections from disease caused by related mycobacteria family, which mimic TB and other lung disease in symptoms but require distinctly different clinical treatments.

2 Apr 2008

MRSA in hospital intensive care -- what's growing where?

Researchers are finding out which bugs grow in intensive care units to develop a novel sampling regime that would indicate the threat of MRSA and other superbugs in the environment, scientists heard (Monday 31 March 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

31 Mar 2008

Call to step up the fight against tuberculosis

In honor of World TB Day 2008 (March 24), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIVMA Medicine Association (HIVMA) urged U.S. policymakers to step up the fight against tuberculosis by committing substantial resources against the disease both at home and abroad.

24 Mar 2008

A national Clostridium difficile prevalence study

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has announced a detailed strategy to combat Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD).

24 Mar 2008

Killer flu in Hong Kong not bird flu

The deaths of three children in Hong Kong from a virulent form of influenza has forced health officials to close all of the district's elementary schools.

13 Mar 2008

New findings do not support recommendation for universal screening on hospital admission for MRSA

New findings do not support the recommendation for universal screening on hospital admission for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infections in surgical patients, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Mar 2008

New research aims to eliminate Streptococcus infections

Professor Howard Jenkinson in the Department of Oral & Dental Science (Dental School) at the University of Bristol has been awarded a grant of £285,000 from The Wellcome Trust to research ways to combat diseases caused by Streptococcus bacteria.

5 Mar 2008

Ebola outbreak in Uganda now over

The Ministry of Health, Uganda has declared the end of the Ebola epidemic in Bundibugyo.

21 Feb 2008

U.S. hospital helps lower infection rates at British hospital

Using their best practice methods for infection control and patient care, Hospital for Special Surgery in New York has helped a new British hospital lower their infection rates and average length of stay.

20 Feb 2008

NSW patients at greater risk of infection by super bugs

A study published late last year on the prevalence of the bug, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA which showed that far more MRSA bugs were collected in NSW-ACT hospitals than in other states, has been supported by one of Sydney's most senior surgeons.

13 Feb 2008

Few strategies exist to prevent MRSA spread in nursing homes

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureu (MRSA) is making news as a dangerous, sometimes fatal disease for hospital patients, and in recent cases, students.

24 Jan 2008

Infections at incision site more common than expected following breast procedures

Infections at the incision site occurred in more than 5 percent of patients following breast surgery and cost them more than $4,000 each in hospital-related expenses, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Jan 2008