Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – March 1, 2017
March 1, 2017
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Study: Flu Shot Mandates Unsupported by Science
The four trials were conducted in long-term care facilities, but have generally been extrapolated to support flu immunization requirements in acute care and other settings. Among other benefits, the studies generally link reductions in resident mortality to higher staff flu vaccination rates. With healthcare worker vaccination rates lagging in most hospitals, several facilities began mandating immunization several years ago in what has since become a national trend.
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Will SHEA Drop Flu Shot Mandate of HCWs?
“Given the assault on science that we are likely to see over the next four years in the U.S., SHEA must lead by ensuring that all of its recommendations are solidly based in evidence and that expectations for compliance with interventions correlate with the strength of the evidence,” notes Michael Edmond, MD, clinical professor of internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. “Just as we must defend vaccines from false claims of adverse effects, we must also truthfully acknowledge their limitations and shape our policy on science not opinion.”
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Wanted: The Next Generation of Infection Preventionists
A national survey of 4,078 infection preventionists shows that the field is approaching a demographic cliff, as 41.6% of respondents were age 56 years or older.
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MRSA Screening Has Collateral Benefits
Lead author Martin E. Evans, MD, an infectious disease physician at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, reports that infection rates fell 80% percent in non-ICUs, and 81% percent in spinal cord injury units.
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Fatal Infection Resistant to All Antibiotics
Last August a female patient in an acute care hospital in Reno, NV, died of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae that was resistant to 26 antibiotics. The pathogen was Klebsiella pneumoniae that was isolated from a wound specimen. Of note, the patient had recently been hospitalized in India, and the specific enzyme conferring pan resistance was first discovered in that country: New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase.