Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – July 1, 2023

Lax Infection Control Suspected in Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

Infection control lapses, including the contamination of multidose vials of anesthetic, are suspected in a fungal meningitis outbreak that exposed about 200 American patients who received epidural injections this year in the border town of Matamoros, Mexico.

Multidose Vials Linked to HCV Spread in Clinic

An outbreak of hepatitis C virus among four patients at a Los Angeles pain clinic in September 2022 likely was caused by improper use of needles and multidose vials of local anesthetic.

Antibiotic Stewardship Must Overcome Deeply Held Dogma

Antibiotic therapy is steeped in dogma from case-series studies conducted in the 1940s and 1950s, which generated “low-quality” but persistent evidence before the era of widespread clinical trials, Emily Spivak, MD, said at the 2023 conference of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

CMS Ends COVID Shot Mandate for HCWs

On Nov. 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began requiring healthcare workers to receive at least the initial series of COVID-19 vaccine. After considerable hue and cry — marked by lawsuits and resignations — the requirement was officially rescinded on June 5, 2023.

APIC Supports Ending CMS Vaccine Mandate

In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology supported the end of mandated COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers and suggested adding two key hospital infection risks as quality indicators.

FDA Approves New COVID Vaccine for Fall

COVID-19 advisors to the FDA voted unanimously to approve a new monovalent vaccine for the coming fall containing the currently predominant omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.