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Federal health officials have recommended that the 2004-05 trivalent influenza vaccine for the United States contain A/New Caledonia/20/99-like (H1N1), A/Fujian/411/2002-like (H3N2), and B/Shanghai/361/2002-like viruses.
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The Joint Commission is adding a new infection control standard for health care facilities that requires them to prepare for an influx of infectious patients. As part of emergency management activities, institutions must prepare for such an influx or the risk of an influx effective Jan. 1, 2005.
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The following questions were among those asked during two recent surveys by the Joint Commission. The questions do not represent any kind of official survey, but were simply noted anecdotally by two infection control professionals as the questions were asked to them and other staff members.
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Be proactive and get ready for an onslaught of questions from critical inquiries to the out-of-the-blue variety if youre preparing for a visit from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, advise two infection control professionals who recently went through the process.
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A recent article by investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reiterated the following basic infection control measures to prevent patient-to-patient transmission of bloodborne pathogens in ambulatory care settings.
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Emerging data in elderly patients indicate that a stealth epidemic of hepatitis C and hepatitis B virus may be going undetected in ambulatory care settings, Hospital Infection Control has learned. If the data are verified, the infectious risk extends to all patients in ambulatory care, as elderly patients are essentially a surrogate marker for health care transmission due to their lack of other risk factors.
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A cluster of hemodialysis patients with West Nile virus (WNV) infections suggests possible transmission of the emerging virus in a dialysis center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. However, the epidemiologic investigation was inconclusive in determining a source of infection.
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While much of the recently reported infection control problems in ambulatory care have centered on viral hepatitis and reused needles, there may be a comparable level of bacterial infections occurring that are more difficult to detect, investigators report.
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Ninety-three percent of sputum isolates from a single long-term care facility were resistant to quinolones. Epidemiologic study showed an association with prior receipt of levofloxacin.
