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Spread of H1N1 influenza A virus in the Southern Hemisphere creates a fateful scenario where coinfection with H5N1 avian influenza A is now possible, Margaret Chan, MD, director- general of the World Health Organization, recently warned.
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As this issue went to press, interim infection control recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for H1N1 influenza A included the following:
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On April 23, 2009, the oft-repeated pandemic influenza warning of "when, not if" became now.
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It is important to investigate the reasons for nonadherence to hand hygiene guidelines before deciding on one or more improvement strategies, according to a new report by The Joint Commission and its partners. It also is useful to examine the organizational context of health care delivery, which may facilitate or inhibit adherence.
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The Joint Commission has issued a major new document on the difficult issue of assessing hand hygiene compliance by health care workers.
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Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are clearly on the radar of Kathleen Sebelius, the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She recently called for action to prevent HAIs in praising two new HHS reports on the quality of health care in America.
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Health care-associated infections cause direct medical costs as high as $45 billion annually in U.S. hospitals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports in a new analysis.
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Beyond the immediate threat to frail, hospitalized patients posed by emerging carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is a larger concern: its mechanism of resistance is transferable to other bacterial species.
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Trying to keep the genie in the bottle, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines to halt the emergence of a highly drug-resistant, gram-negative pathogen that can cause a variety of infections with a strikingly high mortality rate.
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Having been in infection prevention in one capacity or another since 1981, Denise Murphy, RN, MPH, CIC has seen the field affected by everything from the AIDS epidemic, the rise of drug-resistant pathogens, and the increasing influence of consumer advocates and lawmakers. She has seen it all and seen enough.