Infection Control Today News

Groups Ask Obama to Rethink N95 Issue

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:13:22 PDT

To read a special commentary from Mark E. Rupp, MD, president of SHEA, CLICK HERE.The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) announced today that the organization, along with SHEA and the IDSA, have issued a letter to President Obama expressing concern over the current federal guidance surrounding ...(327 words)

High-Priority Adults Unable to Get H1N1 Vaccine

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:32:33 PDT

A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so. The poll, which examines the American public's response to the H1N1 vaccine shortage, is ...(526 words)

Map of Human Bacterial Diversity Shows Wide Interpersonal Differences

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:19:06 PDT

A University of Colorado at Boulder team has developed the first atlas of bacterial diversity across the human body, charting wide variations in microbe populations that live in different regions of the body and which aid us in physiological functions that contribute to our health.The study showed humans carry "personalized" ...(1104 words)

NIAID Announces New Human Immunology Research Awards to Help Fight Emerging Infectious Diseases

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:03:16 PDT

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded approximately $208 million to two programs that support research to better understand the human immune response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including those that may be introduced into a community through acts of bioterrorism.The grants were awarded to ...(773 words)

Experts Applaud New Task Force on Global Antibiotic Resistance Threat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:03:51 PDT

Experts on both sides of the Atlantic applaud President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) presidency, for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide. During a summit held ...(682 words)

Maryland Hospital Hand Hygiene Collaborative is Launched

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:48:55 PDT

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown today kicked off the Maryland Hospital Hand Hygiene Collaborative campaign to enhance the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Maryland hospitals. HAIs are the most common adverse event encountered by hospitalized patients and cost the nation an estimated $30 billion in added healthcare costs. This initiative is ...(664 words)

CDC Solicits Input on Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:56:34 PDT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a request for public comments on the agency’s draft guidelines for the prevention of intravascular catheter-related infections. Input is due on or before Dec. 3, 2009, and comments may be submitted via e-mail to: BSI@cdc.gov; by mail at: CDC, Division ...(71 words)

When Should Flu Trigger a Shutdown?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:25:14 PDT

As flu season approaches, parents around the country are starting to face school closures. But how bad should an influenza outbreak be for a school to shut down? A study led by epidemiologists John Brownstein, PhD, and Anne Gatewood Hoen, PhD, of the Children's Hospital Boston Informatics Program, in collaboration ...(738 words)

Report on H1N1 Cases in California Shows Hospitalization Can Occur At All Ages, With Many Severe

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:41:18 PDT

In contrast with some common perceptions regarding 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infections, an examination of cases in California indicates that hospitalization and death can occur at all ages, and about 30 percent of hospitalized cases have been severe enough to require treatment in an intensive care unit, according to a study ...(577 words)

Cruising for a Norovirus Infection?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:36:07 PDT

A team of researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), Carney Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance and Tufts University School of Medicine, have found that widespread poor compliance with regular cleaning of public restrooms on cruise ships may predict subsequent norovirus infection outbreaks (NoVOs). This study, which appears in the ...(615 words)