Infectious Disease
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Measles Outbreak 101: IP Shares Lessons Learned
Once declared eradicated in the U.S., measles is still causing outbreaks in many parts of the world and may show up at any given U.S. hospital in a traveler or a child whose parents did not have him or her immunized. -
What Is the SAFER Accreditation Survey?
Infection preventionists should be aware that The Joint Commission is using a new accreditation process called the Survey Analysis for Evaluating Risk. -
What Joint Commission Surveyors Are Citing on Infection Control
Feeling prepared for a Joint Commission accreditation survey after receiving only one deficiency in an inspection three years prior, an IP was “devastated” when her hospital was written up for four lapses in infection control practices. -
APIC 2018: A Call to Action for Infection Preventionists
A keynote speaker who suffered a devastating healthcare infection urged IPs to stand their ground and protect patients. -
Infectious Disease Alert Updates
Worse Than Snake Oil; Contract Tracing Using WHO Network; Preparing Your Hospital for Candida auris
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Re-evaluating Steroid Therapy in Septic Shock
Two recent trials have provided more data regarding steroid therapy for septic shock.
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Encephalitis, Fever, and Doxycycline
Scrub typhus is a significant cause of acute encephalitis in north India and other parts of Asia and Africa. Doxycycline is a safe and effective treatment option.
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The Viral World Keeps on Going — Some Recent Activity
Ebola makes a comeback, but meets a vaccine. Lassa fever and Rift Valley fever also make their mark, while Keystone virus infects a teenager in Florida.
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Using Multilocus Sequence Typing for Surveillance and Discovery of Borrelia Species
Broad polymerase chain reaction screening followed by multilocus sequence typing is a useful method to understand the geographic distribution of Borrelia species causing human disease. Candidatus B. johnsonii (carried by bat ticks) was not known previously to infect humans. Its identification in a human patient suggests it may cause a relapsing fever syndrome.
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A Negative Nares Screen for MRSA Helps Exclude MRSA Pneumonia
A meta-analysis determined that nares screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has a high specificity and negative predictive value for MRSA pneumonia. MRSA nasal screening can be a useful tool for antimicrobial stewardship personnel to de-escalate empiric anti-MRSA therapy.