Two nurses at Central Texas Veterans Health Care System designed a flu pandemic escape room that led to an increase in hand-washing and flu vaccine acceptance at the Temple-based organization.

There is a low risk of COVID-19 spreading through contaminated hospital surfaces, a study published June 24 in PLOS One found.

A total of 113 patients across several states may have contracted tuberculosis after having spinal surgery or fracture repairs involving a contaminated bone repair product, The Washington Post reported June 18. The CDC, FDA and state health departments are investigating the outbreak. 

A new study suggests biopsy specimens are retained in gastrointestinal endoscopes about two-thirds of the time, reports Medscape. 

In most cases, samples from blood donors do not need to be tested for SARS-CoV-2, with current blood donor screening guidelines safe to continue following, the National Institutes of Health said June 1. 

Six patients and employees at Presque Isle, Maine-based Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital have tested positive for COVID-19, the hospital said June 1.

Infectious disease physicians had an average income of $245,000 in 2020, down from $256,000 in 2019, according to Medscape's infectious diseases physician compensation report published May 14. 

The following hospitals had the lowest rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in the U.S., according to data from CMS' Hospital Compare website.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the House Committee on Appropriations to allocate more funding to fight antibiotic resistance on a federal level.

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital in Huntington, W. Va., has detected Legionella bacteria in the water supply at an administration building, the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources said April 27. 

Hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers at the University of Chicago Medical Center soared early in the pandemic, but fell back to pre-pandemic levels after just four months, according to a study published April 26 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Sholom Community Alliance nursing home in St. Louis Park, Minn., has paid $27,100 in fines after an employee died from the coronavirus last May, the StarTribune reported April 25. 

People who maintain 60 feet of distance from others indoors are no more protected than if they socially distanced by 6 feet, according to a peer-reviewed study published April 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America.

In healthcare circles, environmental services technicians have been described as front-line defenders against infection. They work alongside clinicians to protect patients and promote wellness. They often put themselves at risk to clean and disinfect facilities during localized outbreaks and even pandemics.

The world has not made significant progress in developing new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections, the World Health Organization said in a new report.

Many industries have turned to disinfection robots to automate the cleaning of public spaces during the COVID-19 crisis, a trend that will likely not disappear once the pandemic ends, reports The Washington Post.

A COVID-19 outbreak that started in an inpatient unit for surgical and oncology patients at Duke Raleigh (N.C.) Hospital has infected 31 people, reports The News & Observer.

ProMedica Toledo (Ohio) Hospital has tapped a sanitizing robot to help disinfect its operating rooms and neurological intensive care unit.

A nurse-led effort at UPMC Williamsport (Pa.) hospital quickly reduced catheter-associated urinary tract infections in the intensive care unit, spurring the organization to implement the program hospitalwide, according to a study published in Critical Care Nurse.

Studies have shown the risk of contracting COVID-19  from a contaminated surface is "generally less than 1 in 10,000," and in most cases, household cleaners rather than disinfectants are sufficient to ward off virus levels, the CDC said in updated guidance published April 5.