Infectious Disease
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EPINet has new leadership, expands mission to go beyond threat of bloodborne infections
The International Healthcare Worker Safety Center — one of the original surveillance systems for healthcare worker needlesticks — has made a dramatic transition to an independent non-profit center that is widening the net beyond bloodborne pathogens to include worker exposures to Clostridium difficile and MRSA.
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The do’s and don’ts of using masks and N95s
With all the post-Ebola emphasis on personal protective equipment, there’s no time like the present to review the proper use and wear of masks and respirators. -
Bare below elbows: Common sense or nonsense?
Is it time for clinicians to lose the white coats, long sleeves, and neckties in favor of bare arms for patient care? Citing anecdotal evidence, common sense, and the limited data available in the absence of clinical trials, the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics is doing just that beginning January 2016, said Michael Edmond, hospital epidemiologist at the Iowa City facility.
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Parents of 350 babies warned of possible TB transmission from infected worker
As patient notifications of potential exposures to infectious disease go, it doesn’t get much worse than telling parents their newborn baby may be in danger.
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Are novel flu vaccines an answer for high-risk patients?
Amid ongoing efforts to get 90% of healthcare workers immunized against seasonal flu by 2020, researchers are seeking to boost the immunity of high-risk patients to protect them from serious and even fatal flu infections in the hospital and the community.
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VA hospital system may mandate staff flu shots in ‘near future’
With a new study finding that virtually none of the nation’s 150 Veterans Health Administration hospitals have mandatory flu shot policies for healthcare workers — leaving vaccination rates languishing in the 55% range — the VA system is considering a vaccine mandate to protect patients and coworkers, Hospital Infection Control & Prevention has learned.
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Infectious Disease Alert Updates
These updates include: "A Deadly Funeral", "Increase in Congenital Syphilis", "That Is Not Strep Throat!", and "Increase in Ocular Syphilis"
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Malaria: Getting Better, but Still a Long Way To Go
While significant progress has been made in the control of malaria, the number of cases remains huge — an estimated 198 million cases and 584,000 deaths in 2013.
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Antibiotic Therapy for Pediatric Parapneumonic Empyema
In a retrospective review of 391 children with parapneumonic empyema, the safety and effectiveness of oral antibiotic therapy was comparable to outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy for antibiotic management following hospitalization.
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Encephalitis from Chikungunya Virus: An Increasingly Recognized Syndrome
A retrospective cohort study of a major chikungunya virus outbreak found a significant incidence of central nervous system disease, with patients < 1 year of age and > 65 years of age at most risk for chikungunya virus-associated encephalitis.