Infection Control

There is an emerging threat of Candida auris, a fungus that is becoming more resistant to treatment, the CDC said March 20. 

While the majority of clinicians view hand hygiene as critical to patient safety, environment and other factors can stand in the way of high reliability, according to a new survey-based study led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital. 

Five medical societies collaborated to publish updated hand hygiene recommendations for preventing healthcare-associated infections through hand hygiene at acute care facilities, Wolters Kluwer reported March 13.

Three patients have tested positive for Legionella at Cincinnati-based Christ Hospital's main campus, NBC affiliate WLWT5 reported March 11.

The CDC recently updated its recommendations for hepatitis B infection testing, saying all adults should be tested at least once in their lifetime and a wider range should be periodically retested.

Mass General Brigham researchers at two hospitals found the metabolic strategies C. difficile uses to rapidly colonize the gut and identified ways to combat the disease, the Somerville, Mass.-based health system said in a March 9 news release.

A California physician contracted mpox via skin contact after working with two infected patients, in a rare case of infection without a needle stick.

Bacteria from a water purification system may be linked to three deaths at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, according to research published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Healthcare workers who had symptoms after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination had longer and stronger immunity than those who did not, researchers at Farmington, Conn.-based UConn Health, found, according to a March 6 news release.

Ahead of the ending COVID-19 emergency, several hospitals and health systems have begun to walk back their mask rules.