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. 

The FDA is warning healthcare providers of a potential infection risk linked to reprocessed urological endoscopes after receiving numerous reports of patient infections and contamination issues, the agency said April 1.

The medical schools at Huntington, W.Va.-based Marshall University and West Virginia University in Morgantown are collaborating on a $1 million initiative to establish a statewide infection prevention network, the state's health and human resources department announced March 25. 

Twenty staff members and patients at Duke Raleigh (N.C.) Hospital have tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak traced to an inpatient unit for surgical and oncology patients, reports The News & Observer. 

California health officials have fined Oakland, Calif.-based Alta Bates Summit Medical Center $155,250 over workplace infection control standards, the California Nurses Association said March 19. 

Kettering Medical Center in Miamisburg, Ohio, detected Legionella bacteria in its hot water system in mid-March, reports local news station WHIO.

A nursing home in Eastern Kentucky is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak that may be tied to a new coronavirus variant, reports Fox affiliate WXIX.

State regulators cited Juneau, Alaska-based Bartlett Regional Hospital in February after a January inspection found issues related to screening and infection prevention procedures at the hospital, local news station KTOO reported March 15. 

Modern hospital care and antibiotics are not solely responsible for the antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains that exist today, according to a study published March 9 in Nature Communications.

The CDC is reminding U.S. healthcare providers about its Ebola infection control guidelines in light of new outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea, according to AHA News.

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America is rolling out a new peer-reviewed journal on infection prevention March 12.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a $13,494 penalty to Chicago-based Community First Medical Center in December after an inspection found violations related to respirator mask policies, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Feb. 24. 

How many healthcare workers have actually received vaccines since the vaccine rollout began in December?

New York's health department will recommend reopening visitation for nursing homes and issue new guidance in accordance with CMS and the CDC, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Feb. 29, according to radio station WCBS.

Few nurses or endoscopy technicians undergo formal training on infection control and reprocessing before joining endoscopy units, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

More than 90 percent of staff at Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Medical Center have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, CBS News reported Feb. 18. 

Infection preventionists cited the COVID-19 vaccines' quick market entry as the most common reason other healthcare workers have been hesitant to get vaccinated, according to a Feb. 10 survey from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.