Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – May 1, 2024

Healthcare Diversity, Equity Efforts Under Attack After SCOTUS Ruling

Having seen the raw inequity the pandemic exposed in the healthcare system, one would think it has become harder to deny or rationalize the lack of diversity in caregivers and higher adverse outcomes in marginalized patient populations. But one would be wrong.

All In: If You Share Patients, Collaborate

A regional decolonization collaborative among hospitals and long-term care facilities that commonly share patients led to decreased infections, hospitalizations, costs, and deaths caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, researchers reported.

CDC Issues Alert on Spike in Meningitis

Infection preventionists should be aware of increasing cases of invasive Neisseria meningitidis, which currently are causing an 18% mortality rate and primarily infecting three risk groups: Black people, people with human immunodeficiency virus, and those in the age range of 30 to 60 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports in a public health alert.

More than Half of 2024 Measles Cases Hospitalized

A measles outbreak continues to hit Chicago, while surveillance nationally found 113 cases in 18 states as of April 4, 2024. With cases both in the community and in migrant shelters, the Chicago Health Department reported 61 measles infections as of April 11, 2024.

High-Mortality Cryptococcosis Infection After COVID-19

A survey initiated by the Mycoses Study Group identified 69 cases of cryptococcosis following COVID-19 infection. The mortality rate was 59%, with cases in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals.

Avian Flu Rears Its Beak Again in the United States

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an alert after a human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus in the United States following exposure to presumed infected dairy cattle. No human-to-human transmission of HPAI A(H5N1) virus has been identified.