Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – January 1, 2015
January 1, 2015
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Regulators: CMS issues infection control survey, OSHA drafts ID reg
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized its long anticipated infection control survey for hospitals, telling its inspectors the requirements are effective immediately and can be used to issue citations in unannounced inspections. -
CMS sets the table for regulation requiring antibiotic stewardship programs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services does not currently have regulations in place to require antibiotic stewardship programs in hospitals, but the fact that it expanded that section in the final version of its infection control survey suggests that is only a temporary situation. -
OSHA drafts national infectious disease standard to protect health care workers
Though the timing with the Ebola outbreak is purely coincidental, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has drafted an infectious disease standard that would mandate infection control measures to protect health care workers. -
Designated Ebola treatment centers provide ID safety net for future emerging infections
U.S. biocontainment facilities that have safely handled Ebola patients now are joined in their preparedness efforts by more than 30 hospitals newly designated as Ebola treatment centers. -
Rogue H3N2 A flu strain not covered by vaccine, threatens high risk groups with severe infections
An H3N2 A influenza strain not covered in the current vaccine is circulating in the U.S. and threatens high risk groups with severe infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. -
MERS and the camel connection to kiss or cull?
The World Health Organization recently reported two Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus infections in Qatar, with both men reporting exposure to camels. -
Perspective: The mutable message on Ebola mutation
The idea that the Ebola virus may mutate and become transmissible through the air continues to be pushed to the margins of the public health discussion, now all but relegated to the nightmares of a panicked public.