The Zika virus outbreak spreading through the Americas is raising a host of questions for U.S. infection preventionists, who are trying to keep staff informed on the unfolding public health aspects while emphasizing that standard precautions and safe injection practices will prevent transmission in healthcare settings.
Zika is establishing a foothold in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which has ongoing transmission of the virus and spread is projected to increase, the CDC reports.
It was not entirely unexpected that emerging Zika virus could transmit sexually — as it has now done in the first case acquired in the U.S. — but it jolted a public health narrative that was primarily focused on mosquitoes, pregnancy, and birth defects.
Based on the historical precedents of HIV/AIDS and Ebola, some 25% of healthcare workers may refuse to treat patients with the next novel pandemic pathogen that is perceived as life-threatening, researchers report in a fascinating new attitudinal study.
Even workers with a history of measles vaccination or immunity should wear an N95 or equivalent respiratory protection when examining or caring for patients with suspected or confirmed measles, says Shruti K. Gohil, MD, lead author of a recent study on the issue and associate medical director of Epidemiology & Infection Prevention at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.
