Hot Topics in Infection Control
Interim Guidance on Infection Control Measures for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Healthcare Settings, Including Protection of Healthcare Personnel
Media Newswire, October 16th, 2009
CDC is releasing updated interim guidance on infection control measures to prevent transmission of 2009 H1N1 influenza in healthcare facilities. The updated guidance applies uniquely to the special circumstances of the current 2009 H1N1 pandemic and will be updated as necessary as new information becomes available throughout the course of this influenza season. It provides general guidance for all healthcare facilities. The updated guidance expands on earlier guidance by emphasizing that successfully preventing transmission requires a comprehensive approach, beginning with pandemic planning that includes developing written plans that are flexible and adaptable should changes occur in the severity of illness or other aspects of 2009 H1N1 and seasonal influenza.
http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/guidance/
Gross Germ-Spreading Behaviors Remain the Norm, Despite Flu Season Concerns
Infection Control Today, October 12th, 2009
Do you cough without covering your mouth while standing in the lunch line? Or sneeze loudly into the air when squeezed onto the morning bus? Nearly all Americans (96 percent) have seen you do things like this -- and a shocking three-quarters (77 percent) say they are guilty themselves.
H1N1 could hit 25 to 35 percent of Canadians
Elizabeth Thompson, Sun Media, October 7th, 2009
The potentially deadly H1N1 flu virus could hit 25 to 35% of Canadians in coming months, health officials warned Wednesday as they urged Canadians to get the vaccine once it is available in early November.
Experts concerned about dangers of antibacterial products
Jennifer Yang, Globe and Mail, August 21st, 2009
Canadian Medical Association calls on the federal government to ban all antibacterial household products because of fears they cause bacterial resistance
Ottawa prepares for pandemic with new rules for treatment
Gloria Galloway,
The Globe and Mail, July 14th, 2009
For the first time in decades, doctors across the country will be given rules to help determine which patients get access to life-saving treatments in the event an influenza pandemic hits the country hard this fall.
Swine flu hits young, healthy adults hard
Marina Jiménez, The Globe and Mail, July 4, 2009
In recent weeks, as swine flu has faded from the world's radar, infectious disease specialists worry that people have become complacent about the pandemic, which is expected to infect one third of the population, or about 10 million Canadians. (In contrast, seasonal flu affects about one in 10 people.)
World now at the start of 2009 influenza pandemic
Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, June 11, 2009
We are in the earliest days of the pandemic. The virus is spreading under a close and careful watch. No previous pandemic has been detected so early or watched so closely, in real-time, right at the very beginning. The world can now reap the benefits of investments, over the last five years, in pandemic preparedness.
Swine flu nears highest threat level
The Canadian Press, Helen Branswell, Medical Reporter, June 10, 2009
TORONTO - The World Health Organization is very close to declaring the first influenza pandemic since 1968, the agency's senior influenza expert suggested Tuesday.
Alberta Girl Severely Ill With H1N1 Flu, As Cases Mount In Toronto And GTA
Citynews.ca, May 4, 2009
"It's a worrying new development in the H1N1 outbreak. An Alberta girl has become severely ill with the virus, the first such case in Canada."
Confirmed Swine Flu Cases Leap
CNN, April 30, 2009
"Confirmed cases of swine flu worldwide increased to 257 on Thursday, up significantly from the previous day's total of 147, the World Health Organization reported."
WHO Raises Pandemic Alert Level; More Swine Flu Cases Feared
CNN, April 28, 2009
"The move from level three to level four on the WHO's six-level threat scale means the world body has determined the virus is capable of significant human-to-human transmission -- a major step toward a flu pandemic, said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the agency's assistant director-general."
Swine Flu Outbreak Spreads to Asia, Middle East
MSNBC, April 28, 2009
"The swine flu outbreak crossed new borders Tuesday with the first cases confirmed in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, as the number of deaths in Mexico blamed on the virus surpassed 150."
Swine flu outbreak international 'public health emergency': WHO
CBC, April 25, 2009
"Calling the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern," the World Health Organization asked countries around the world Saturday to step up their reporting and surveillance of influenza."
CDC: Swine Flu Viruses in U.S. and Mexico Match
CNN., April 25, 2009
" U.S. health officials expressed concern Friday that a swine flu virus that has infected eight people in the United States matches samples of a virus that has killed at least 68 people in Mexico."
Infection Prevention Lacking in Canadian LTC Facilities
ICT, February 20, 2009
"It's critical that vulnerable long-term care residents be protected from largely preventable infections," says Zoutman, who is medical director of infection prevention and control at Kingston GeneralHospital and Providence Care. "More and better-trained infection control professionals are essential to providing effective infection surveillance and control programs."
Infections Plague U.S. Hospitals
Michael Schroeder, The Journal Gazette, January 23, 2009
At least 103,000 people die from hospital-acquired infections annually in the U.S., more than from AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined, said Betsy McCaughey, chairwoman and founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.
Norwalk-like Virus Prompts Restrictions at Kitchener, Ont., Hospital
By The Canadian Press, January 20, 2009
KITCHENER, Ont. - St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener, Ont., has closed two units to new admissions because of a Norwalk-like virus.
Worse than expected: Study uncovers alarming prevalence of C. diff
Knowledge Is Infectious, November 19, 2008
The APIC study—the largest and most comprehensive of its kind—represents a one-day snapshot of C. diff rates at 648 healthcare facilities in 47 states—12.5 percent of all acute care hospitals in the U.S. Each facility supplied data for a single day between May and August 2008, and the results are truly alarming: 13 out of every 1,000 inpatients in the survey were either infected or colonized with C. diff.
Hospital Superbugs on the Rise Despite Prevention Efforts, Study Shows
Infection Control Today, November 11, 2008
"Not making the required investments would be shortsighted and might suggest that we have already forgotten the lessons we learned from the outbreaks of SARS and C. difficile."
Doorknobs, Handles And Your TV Remote: Your Secret Home Germ Carriers
By Marilynn Marchione The Associated Press, October 29, 2008
Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer.
Toronto's Free Flu Shot Clinics Open On Monday
CityNews.ca, October 27, 2008
The Fact's about Flu Shots - Dr. Michael Gardam, the chief of infection control at Toronto General Hospital.
Officials give high school clean bill of health after MRSA death
Robyn Shelton, Sentinel Medical Writer October 3, 2008
Health officials said Thursday that they found clean conditions in an inspection of Liberty High School after a senior died earlier this week from a bacterial infection.
Deadly Rugby Virus Spreads
Infection Control Today, September 29, 2008
Rugby players may get more than just the ball out of a scrum – herpes virus can cause a skin disease called "scrumpox" and it spreads through physical contact. Researchers have studied the spread of the disease among sumo wrestlers in Japan and have discovered that a new strain of the virus could be even more pathogenic, according to an article published in the October issue of the Journal of General Virology.