Infection Control

An increase in measles activity this year is coinciding with a rise in potential exposures as infected individuals seek medical care at healthcare facilities across the nation.

In newly published findings from a survey of U.S. infectious disease physicians, only 37% said their facilities conduct screening for Candida auris, a fungus deemed an urgent public health threat due to its resistance to multiple antifungal treatments. 

The New Jersey Department of Health reported a cluster of suspected mumps in Hunterdon County.

The American Medical Association is underscoring the importance of robust sepsis training, particularly for new hires, as U.S. hospitals are increasingly under pressure to do more to reduce and prevent the 270,000 sepsis-induced deaths that occur annually.

CARB-X, a Boston University-led nonprofit that funds projects that focus on antimicrobial stewardship, awarded $467,000 to GlyProVac to develop a maternal vaccine that could prevent sepsis in infants, according to a Feb. 29 news release.

A common practice for treating patients with gastrointestinal conditions has been revised by the American Gastroenterological Association, it announced Feb. 21.

Group B streptococcus is notorious for leading to sepsis in newborns. While there are guidelines for treating the condition, adhering to them is not always followed. 

Cancer patients who are given the oral antibiotic vancomycin following stem cell transplants have greatly reduced rates of Clostridioides difficile infections, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia found. 

Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Canton, Ohio, is taking proactive measures after two patients tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease after stays at the facility, local news outlets reported Feb. 15. 

Oregon confirmed its first bubonic plague case since 2015.