Infection Control Articles by Topic: Emerging Infectious Diseases

WHO guidance addresses H1N1 in TB patients

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 46, November 18, 2009

  The World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement to healthcare managers regarding TB...

Google will find you flu shots

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 46, November 18, 2009

  The same online search engine that brought you Google Flu Trends has developed a searchable online...

IC organizations urge a change in respiratory protection guidelines

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 45, November 11, 2009

  Three leading IC organizations, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Infectious...

Tip of the week: OSHA site offers H1N1 guidance

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 45, November 11, 2009

  OSHA has released H1N1 guidance for workers and employers, including fact sheets regarding...

N95 protection findings retracted

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 44, November 4, 2009

  A surprising endnote at the annual meeting of the Infection Diseases Society of America (IDSA) came...

California nurses and hospitals reach agreement on H1N1 protection

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 44, November 4, 2009

  This week two influential healthcare institutions, the California Nurses Association/National...

AMA releases Web-based flu assessment

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 43, October 28, 2009

  Last week the American Medical Association launched a new online tool for patients and healthcare...

Lawsuits filed to stop H1N1 vaccine

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 41, October 14, 2009

  Two separate lawsuits have been filed in relation to H1N1 vaccinations. One, filed on behalf of a...

H1N1 update from the field

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 40, October 7, 2009

  Some hospitals and outpatient facilities are still struggling to establish proper infection control...

Study says hospital beds could run low

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 40, October 7, 2009

  A study released by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) shows that if 35% of Americans got sick...

H1N1 rap gives winning advice

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 39, September 30, 2009

  Not all H1N1 training needs to be dry or monotonous. In fact, ten individuals have found ways to...

Triage tents provide H1N1 isolation

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 39, September 30, 2009

  Triage tents have become a popular method for many hospitals to isolate and treat patients...

Absenteeism a primary concern for businesses

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 39, September 30, 2009

  A pandemic planning conference in Minneapolis hosted by the University of Minnesota Center for...

Get the flu shot or wear a mask

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 38, September 23, 2009

  While New York has initiated an emergency regulation that requires most healthcare workers in the...

One H1N1 shot for older children, two for younger

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 38, September 23, 2009

  Early test results of the H1N1 vaccine in children point toward just one vaccination rather than...

One shot for H1N1

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 37, September 16, 2009

  Despite what infectious disease experts expected, you won’t need two separate flu shots for...

Flu shots in New York

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 37, September 16, 2009

  Many of you have been following our posts on OSHA Healthcare Advisor regarding required flu shots...

Tip of the week: IOM recommends N95 respirators

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 36, September 9, 2009

  The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a report recommending the use of N95 respirators for...

Paid sick leave policies discussed at the state level

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 36, September 9, 2009

  Pandemic experts have urged healthcare facilities in particular to establish appropriate paid sick...

MD hospitals linked to track flu virus

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 35, September 2, 2009

  State officials announced last week that all Maryland hospitals will be linked in a computerized...

H1N1 could infect half of the United States

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 34, August 26, 2009

  A presidential panel estimates H1N1 (swine flu) could infect half of the U.S. population this...

Some antibiotics could wipe out "good" microbes

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 34, August 26, 2009

  A study published in the June issue of the Journal of Infection and Immunity found that certain...

Tip of the week: Consult federal H1N1 planning guidelines

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 34, August 26, 2009

  Shot, hand, and home are the keywords of the federal guidelines for employer preparation for the...

NY requires flu shot for healthcare workers

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 32, August 12, 2009

  Last week New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council (SHRPC) approved regulation that...

Hand sanitizer seized by U.S. Marshals

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 31, August 5, 2009

  At the request of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Marshals seized all skin sanitizers...

Tip of the week: Respiratory protection from H1N1

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 31, August 5, 2009

  Recently there has been some debate about whether N95 masks are recommended to protect healthcare...

Research shows how antibiotics affect C. diff spores

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 29, July 22, 2009

  Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK found that antibiotic treatment could...

Vaccine availability could become a concern

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 29, July 22, 2009

  Pandemic preparedness experts have voiced the importance of having an H1N1 vaccine available during...

Tip of the week: Prepare your outpatient facility with CDC guidelines

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 29, July 22, 2009

  What medical practices experienced this past spring with influenza pandemic may be nothing compared...

Obesity could be a risk factor with swine flu

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 28, July 15, 2009

  CDC researchers have found evidence suggesting people who are obese but otherwise healthy may be at...

Tip of the week: Prepare for H1N1 management

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 27, July 8, 2009

  The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has released a “National Strategic Plan...

Looking at the influenza flu family tree

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 26, July 1, 2009

  An article published online in the New England Journal of Medicine by scientists at the National...

Healthcare workers and the swine flu

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 25, June 24, 2009

  A report released last week by the CDC in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) indicates...

Community-acquired MRSA may affect HAI rates

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 25, June 24, 2009

  Data presented at the 36th International APIC meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL indicates that cases...

WHO raises pandemic alert to phase six

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 24, June 17, 2009

  On June 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the pandemic alert to phase six indicating...

Tip of the week: SHEA nixes respirator use for protection from novel and seasonal flu

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 24, June 17, 2009

  Epidemiologists who first advised respirator use for the current flu pandemic now say it is not...

Tip of the week: 10 lessons learned from swine flu

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 23, June 10, 2009

  A report released by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), the Center for Biosecurity, and the...

Tip of the Week: Avoid swine flu parties

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 20, May 20, 2009

  No, you didn’t read that incorrectly. Despite your double-take, this is a legitimate...

Swine flu fears shift to fall

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 19, May 13, 2009

  Although influenza A H1N1 outbreaks continue to spread, totaling 3,009 cases in the United States...

Tip of the Week: Prevent infections in the outpatient setting

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 19, May 13, 2009

  An article published on Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports that although...

Swine flu updates

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 17, April 29, 2009

  In a matter of days, what began as a few suspected cases of swine flu in Mexico has elevated to...

Miami health officials stumped over meningitis

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 17, April 29, 2009

  A rare and virulent strain of meningitis has infected 12 people and killed four in South Florida...

Facilities not ready for pandemic flu

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 16, April 22, 2009

  A new report compiled by the AFL-CIO and six unions found that the nation’s healthcare...

FDA clears rapid test for bird flu

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 15, April 15, 2009

  On April 7, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared a rapid test for the detection of...

Drug-resistant TB could become unmanageable

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 14, April 8, 2009

  Global experts are worried that a form of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) could quickly become a...

Preventing disease transmission is focus of IC.02.03.01

• Briefings on Infection Control, Issue 3, March 1, 2009

  Under Joint Commission standard IC.02.03.01, an organization must work to prevent the transmission...

New advancements in flu vaccine

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 8, February 25, 2009

  A new development of antibodies that could protect against various strains of influenza, including...

FDA says peanut products were sold before test results

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 6, February 11, 2009

  A new report from the FDA says Peanut Corp. of America (PCA)—the company tied to the current...

Drugs block HIV in monkeys

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 6, February 11, 2009

  After numerous studies, AIDS researchers have encountered encouraging results in preventing HIV...

Florida hospital named in infection control lawsuit

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 6, February 11, 2009

  Last week, OSHA Healthcare Advisor posted news about a report from the Associated Press regarding a...

Tip of the Week: Inform your visitors

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 6, February 11, 2009

  Wetzel County Hospital in New Martinsville, WV is launching a “Protect Our Patients&rdquo...

Dodging a bullet: Could salmonella become antibiotic resistant?

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 5, February 4, 2009

  The recent salmonella outbreak linked to peanut products, has sickened more than 500 people and...

TB patient sentenced to 30 days of isolation

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 4, January 28, 2009

  There are plenty of airborne precautions for staff to follow when a tuberculosis (TB) patient...

CDC finds TB and substance abuse closely linked in U.S. patients

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 4, January 28, 2009

  A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about a fifth of...

C. diff more prevalent than previously believed

• Briefings on Infection Control, Issue 1, January 1, 2009

  A new nationwide APIC study shows the number of C. diff infections may be six to 20 times higher...

Aggressive action (and aggressive nurses) fight Acinetobacter at Louisiana hospital

• Briefings on Infection Control, Issue 1, January 1, 2009

  When Baton Rouge (LA) General Hospital began seeing highly susceptible patients develop...

Scientists concerned stowaway mosquitoes may spread malaria

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 13, December 24, 2008

  Global warming is raising the risk for infection with what’s been dubbed “airport...

Budget cuts threaten emergency preparedness programs

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 12, December 17, 2008

  A new report says budget cuts are threatening the country’s progress in safety and emergency...

Tip of the week: Pay attention to sink design and placement

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 12, December 17, 2008

  The design and placement of handwashing sinks in the rooms of transplant patients at Toronto...

Experimental vaccine could protect against malaria

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 11, December 10, 2008

  An experimental malaria vaccine is the most promising yet and was able to reduce the rate of...

Half-dose flu shots effective in adults

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 11, December 10, 2008

  A new study shows that half-dose influenza vaccinations are effective in adults and may prove an...

Study: Flu vaccine in elderly may be even less effective than originally thought, but don’t stop encouraging shots

• Briefings on Infection Control, Issue 12, December 1, 2008

  A new study in Lancet Infectious Diseases has again raised questions about the value of flu shots...

Many hospitals ignore CDC recommendation on HIV testing

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 9, November 26, 2008

  Two years ago, the CDC recommended routine HIV testing for everyone ages 13 to 64, whether or not...

Boston attempts to track flu vaccinations

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 9, November 26, 2008

  Beginning last week, Boston became one of the first cities in the country to implement a system...

Tip of the week: Working in healthcare can be risky business

• Infection Control Weekly Monitor, Issue 9, November 26, 2008

  If you needed further evidence of the importance of healthcare workers protecting themselves...

Stay vigilant: Pandemic influenza is more likely than ever

• Briefings on Infection Control, Issue 10, October 1, 2008

  Three years ago, pandemic influenza was a hot topic. Many facilities were focused on preparing for...