Infection Control
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NIH Developing a Vaccine for 2019-nCoV
The National Institutes of Health has fast-tracked vaccine development to stop a novel coronavirus emerging from China, but it will be months before it can be administered safely to an anxious public. While promising, vaccine development and testing is a time-consuming process, both to ensure that it works and that it is safe in humans.
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First Case of Person-to-Person Transmission in the United States
The first case of person-to-person spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus emerging in the United States has occurred, as the husband of a previously identified case in Illinois has been hospitalized, the CDC reported on Jan. 30. The man is the first U.S. case with no history of travel to China. Public health officials announced the woman became ill after returning from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of what is threatening to become a global outbreak. She has been hospitalized, and her husband became ill and also was hospitalized. They both are in stable condition.
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WHO Declares Coronavirus Outbreak an International Emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-CoV) outbreak in China a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on Jan. 30. WHO emphasized China will not be isolated from the global community, which can happen after a PHEIC is issued.
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New Coronavirus Exploding Out of China Poses Threat to Healthcare Workers
Given the deadly precedents of SARS and MERS coronaviruses, a rapidly emerging similar virus out of Wuhan, China, could pose a grave threat to healthcare workers in the United States. As of Jan. 21, the World Health Organization reported that 16 healthcare workers had been infected by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV), and none have died. However, those numbers were considered conservative amid a dramatically accelerating situation as this report was filed.
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Healthcare Worker Attitudes About Respiratory Protection: It’s Complicated
In an unusual qualitative study, healthcare workers revealed a variety of attitudes about respiratory protection equipment, including motivations and suspicions that could improve or undermine compliance.
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Infectious Disease Update: Are You Looking for ESBLs?
Prevention strategies are necessary to limit transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms in the hospital, especially in high-risk settings. Identification of carriers of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms via active surveillance, and contact isolation of positives, has been recommended for certain high-risk groups.
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Antibiotic-Resistant Infections in Pediatrics
There are some signs of progress in drug-resistant infections in pediatrics, suggesting that antibiotic stewardship efforts may be having an effect and fewer broad-spectrum agents are being used on this important patient group, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
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C. diff: Colonization and Consequences
Although once thought of almost exclusively as a hospital-acquired condition, Clostridioides difficile has established a presence in the community that means about 10% of incoming patients could be carrying it asymptomatically, a new study finds.
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Is It Safe to Speak Up? Infection Prevention and ‘Psychological Safety’
The majority of infection preventionists surveyed in a new study reported the lack of a strong “psychological safety” culture in their hospitals, meaning workers may be less likely to point out breaks in aseptic technique and other incidents that could undermine patient safety.
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Parents Can Pose Staph Risk to Babies in NICUs
The parents of babies in neonatal intensive care units can serve as a gateway for Staphylococcus aureus to colonize and potentially infect their newborns, researchers report in a recently published clinical trial.