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Editor's note: In this issue we begin a two-part series on the national epidemic of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) with an overview of the current situation and a specific focus on challenges to hand hygiene. Look for the June 2010 issue of Hospital Infection Control & Prevention for the latest findings and recommendations on C. diff testing, discontinuing isolation and the difficult issue of environmental cleaning.
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The epidemic of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) has eclipsed the nosocomial threat of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) in a group of community hospitals in the Southeast.
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The time is coming when empowered patients armed with data-loaded devices and not afraid to speak up will be full partners in infection prevention, said Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, the immediate past director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Do some health care workers infected with HIV or hepatitis B or C pose a risk to their patients? Should they be restricted from performing exposure-prone procedures?
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Body art visible tattoos, nose/lip/eyebrow/tongue piercings or even the dreaded open-toe/heel shoe or sandal, can arouse surprising passion in health care. Over the years I've heard variations of the comments below, be they factual or not, invariably ending with: "Can't you do anything about this?"
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In April 1988, a young woman working in the transfusion department of the Clinical Center Hospital at the National Institutes of Health spun down a blood sample and was reaching to recap the top of the test tube.
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In its spore form, C. diff is perfectly adapted for dispersal on hands and surfaces, where it can survive for prolonged periods in patient rooms and on medical equipment unless physically removed or killed by powerful solutions like bleach.
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Core and supplement infection control strategies for Clostridium difficile discussed recently in Atlanta at the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections included the following:
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The staggering burden of health care associated infections (HAIs) in lives and dollars is "unacceptable," but changing the status quo is difficult because the health care system is woefully skewed toward treatment rather than prevention, Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said recently in Atlanta at the opening of the Fifth Decennial International Conference on HAIs.
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