Prevention

Matt Linam, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, explains a strategy used at his healthcare facility to prevent respiratory viral HAIs in children.

Are efforts to back infection prevention studies biasing long-term efforts?

Each year, on April 18th, we recognize the importance of HIV testing and status awareness as well as prevention and treatment efforts among transgender individuals, a population particularly at risk for the virus.

Madeline King, PharmD, assistant professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, discusses the significance of the findings of her research on Ceftazidime-Avibactam.

Matt Linam, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, explains how families and visitors can play a role in transmitting healthcare-associated infections.

Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEC) have published their findings on the live-attenuated vaccine candidate in the journal Nature Medicine.

CDC researchers explore if local and state health departments provided HIV services as a part of their STD programs.

Researchers from McGill University, Montreal, have found that maple syrup extracts can enhance the effectiveness of certain antibiotics used against pathogenic bacteria.

Emily Heil, PharmD, BCPS-AQ ID, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and Contagion® Editorial Advisory Board Member, discusses how antibiotic allergies can affect stewardship.

The CDC has released the first estimates of state-specific rates of primary and secondary syphilis among men who have sex with men.

A new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that nearly half of US adults have some form of genital HPV.

Hawaii is experiencing a cluster of rat lungworm disease cases on the Big Island as well as on the island of Maui; a few suspected cases are still undergoing investigation.

Influenza cases are surging in states such as Massachusetts and Maine, causing a springtime “second peak” in flu activity and sidelining members of the Boston Red Sox.

This week’s Public Health News Watch focuses on healthcare costs and provides a brief comparison of the US healthcare system to Canada’s healthcare system, highlighting a few pros and cons of each.

At the SHEA Spring 2017 Conference, Laurie Conway, RN, PhD, CIC, provided conference goers with options that will allow them to “pick their battles” when it comes to ensuring effective surveillance targets.

A new study has found that young and middle-aged adults who were prescribed long-term antibiotics later had increased risk of colorectal adenoma, a suspected precursor to cancer.

Belinda Ostrowsky, MD, MPH, Health Systems Director of Epidemiology, Antimicrobial Stewardship & Infection Prevention, Montefiore Medical Center, and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses limitations to C. difficile testing that could impact stewardship practices in healthcare facilities.

Sometimes the best surveillance tools are found in the gutter, at least according to a new study.

Top-line results of a phase 3 clinical study show that omadacycline met all US Food and Drug Administration primary and secondary endpoints and European Medicines Agency co-primary endpoints.

At the SHEA Spring 2017 Conference on March 30, 2017, David P. Calfee, MD, MS, discussed the role that the environment plays in transmission of healthcare-associated infections, and why cleaning and disinfection measures need to be improved to reduce these infections.

This week’s Public Health News Watch highlights initiatives taking place this week in celebration of National Public Health Week, as well as two new pieces of legislation being considered in Congress that could impact food safety in the country and healthcare, in general.

News on Heliobacter pylori, Zika, Clostridium difficile, Powassan virus, and influenza make up the top 5 news articles from Contagion® in March 2017.

Patient advocate Liz Kruvand brought a fresh perspective to the SHEA Spring 2017 Conference when she discussed her own trials and tribulations with infection prevention in the pediatric hospital setting.

UCL scientists have found that MRI scans can be used as a way to identify HIV persistence in the brain even when it is controlled by treatment efforts.

Rebekah Moehring, MD, MPH, shared strategies for building internal capacity to meet infection prevention goals in resource-limited settings at the SHEA Spring 2017 Conference on March 29, 2017.

Lauri A. Hicks, DO, Director, Office of Antibiotic Stewardship, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains an area of debate in the general medical field regarding antibiotics.

During a recent webcast lecture, Hana Golding, PhD from the US Food and Drug Administration described new ways to evaluate safety and effectiveness of vaccine adjuvants.

On March 30, 2017, at the SHEA Spring 2017 Conference, Thomas Sandora, MD, MPH, shared some tips regarding ways to manage movement outside of the room for patients who are on contact precautions.

Belinda Ostrowsky, MD, MPH, Health Systems Director of Epidemiology, Antimicrobial Stewardship & Infection Prevention, Montefiore Medical Center, and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, explains how to be more sensible when it comes to testing for Clostridium difficile.

Health officials in Florida declare that they are better prepared for a potential outbreak in their state as Zika vaccinations have begun in a multi-site Phase II/IIb clinical trial of VRC705 in areas of endemic Zika transmission throughout the world.