Infection Control News and Research

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Face masks offer little protection from bird flu

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the mass wearing of surgical face masks would do little to reduce the rate of infection in the event of an influenza pandemic.

7 May 2007

3M and Gen-Probe collaborate to combat healthcare-associated infections

3M and Gen-Probe have announced that the companies have formed an exclusive worldwide collaboration to develop and commercialize rapid, easy-to-use nucleic acid tests to detect certain dangerous healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

1 May 2007

Better risk management could cut MRSA infection rates

The larger and busier, an NHS hospital is, the higher the MRSA infection rate, research from the Nottingham University Business School has revealed.

27 Apr 2007

Towards universal access: scaling up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector

Access to antiretroviral therapy for advanced HIV infection in low- and middle-income countries continued to grow throughout 2006, with more than 2 million people living with HIV/AIDS receiving treatment in December 2006, a 54% increase over the 1.3 million people on treatment one year earlier in these countries.

18 Apr 2007

Staph infections among hospitalized patients are on the rise

The study, conducted by Gary Noskin, MD, infectious disease specialist and associate chief medical officer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, also revealed that the increase in staph infections is resulting in millions of dollars of excess healthcare costs due to longer hospitalizations.

17 Apr 2007

Study identifies high-risk patient populations for MRSA carriage

A Rhode Island Hospital study presented at the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) annual meeting found that patients in long-term elder care and HIV-infected outpatients appear to be high-risk groups for carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a common cause for health care associated infections.

17 Apr 2007

Most-at-risk nursing home residents to be tested for superbugs

A Johns Hopkins study of adult patients admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital showed that patients who resided in nursing homes or other kinds of long-term care facilities at any time within the last six months were far more likely than other adult patients to carry or be infected with a drug-resistant superbug.

17 Apr 2007

Johns Hopkins to test all children for 'superbugs'

Infection control and critical care experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital have ordered testing for the two most common hospital superbugs for every child admitted to its pediatric intensive care unit.

17 Apr 2007

Screening for Clostridium difficile before hospital admission could cut infection rates

Screening people for Clostridium difficile before they are admitted to hospital may be one way to help control rising rates of infection, says a doctor in the British Medical Journal.

7 Apr 2007

Researchers document rare case of hepatitis B virus transmission

Researchers have documented a case of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission between two patients at a dentist's office in the United States.

4 Apr 2007

Emerging threats demand new approach to disaster preparedness

The SARS epidemic, the South Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and avian influenza all underline a growing need for preparedness planning that addresses multiple hazards and coordinates all levels of government and society, said a panel of public health experts today at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, D.C.

3 Apr 2007

Lesotho struggles to contain spread of tuberculosis

Lesotho is "struggling to contain" the spread of tuberculosis in the face of its HIV/AIDS epidemic, IRIN News reports. In 2006, the country reported 12,000 new TB cases, but TB expert Peter Saranchuk of Medecins Sans Frontieres said the actual number of cases likely is much higher.

2 Apr 2007

Flu pandemic could cost U.S. $683 billion

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a new report today that finds a severe pandemic flu outbreak could result in the second worst recession in the U.S. since World War II. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could drop over 5.5 percent, leading to an estimated $683 billion loss.

22 Mar 2007

Clean hands save patient lives

Experts on patient safety are urging countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to join a global effort to improve hand hygiene and related practices in hospitals and health care facilities to help reduce the growing number of deaths and illnesses due to health care-associated infections.

5 Mar 2007

New Jersey Health Department orders closure of abortion clinic, lawsuit filed

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services last week ordered one of the state's largest abortion providers -- Metropolitan Medical Associates in Englewood, N.J. -- to close after finding violations that posed "immediate and serious risk of harm to patients," the Bergen Record reports.

4 Mar 2007

Majority of South Africans with HIV have drug resistant TB

Researchers at a conference in Los Angeles have said that as many as 85% of HIV-positive South Africans are also infected with an extensively drug-resistant form of tuberculosis (TB), Extensive Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB).

27 Feb 2007

New hospital gowns to combat MRSA

The fight against the MRSA bug will take a step forward this week when a new-style hospital gown goes on trial at a London hospital.

11 Feb 2007

Rift Valley Fever - 411 suspected cases

As of 30 January 2007, 411 suspected cases, including 121 deaths (case-fatality rate, 29%) have been reported in North Eastern Province, Coast Province, Eastern Province and Central Province. One hundred and thirty-one cases have been laboratory confirmed.

31 Jan 2007

Modified skin cells that may help protect cultured skin substitutes from infection

Cincinnati burn researchers have created genetically modified skin cells that, when added to cultured skin substitutes, may help fight off potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns.

9 Jan 2007

Common-sense measures to stop ICU infections

Hospitals will quickly slash the rate of common, costly and potentially lethal catheter-related bloodstream infections in their intensive care units (ICUs) by using cheap, low-tech, common-sense measures like hand washing, timely removal of unneeded catheters, and use of sites other than the groin to place lines when possible, according to a report from safety experts at Johns Hopkins in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Jan 2007