Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – January 1, 2020
January 1, 2020
View Issues
-
Antibiotic-Resistant Threats: CDC Report Cites Progress, Peril
A combination of public health, antibiotic stewardship, and infection control efforts over the last six years have managed to beat back the devil of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Yet all still hangs in the balance.
-
Murderers’ Row: Resistant to Drugs, Threats to Humans
In a recently published report on antibiotic threats in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified pathogens as urgent, serious, concerning, or put them on a “watch list.”
-
C. auris: A Bad Bug With a Worst-Case Scenario
Imagine if a common healthcare-associated infection became impossible to treat. The nightmare scenario public health officials are contemplating is that an emerging strain of multidrug-resistant Candida auris will displace treatable strains of Candida, which are already a leading cause of bloodstream infections.
-
Human Factors: Drug Stewardship in the Emergency Department
Broadly classified as ergonomics in much of the world, human factors engineering ultimately may lead to changes in practices and behaviors entrenched in healthcare that endanger patients with infections and other harms.
-
Mass Flu Vaccinations Serve as Emergency Drills
Infection preventionists may one day be faced with a pandemic flu or the release of a bioterrorism agent that calls for mass vaccinations or post-exposure prophylaxis of healthcare workers. One novel way to prepare now is to stage annual flu vaccinations as an emergency drill.
-
CDC: Fight Against AIDS at Key Inflection Point
CDC officials updated an ambitious plan to essentially end the AIDS epidemic in the United States in the next decade. While taking an overall national approach, the plan — part of a collaboration between the CDC and other federal agencies — would target specific geographic areas and at-risk populations.