Infection Control

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

Denver Health and Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth plan to lift universal mask mandates March 1, Colorado Public Radio reported Feb. 27. 

Raleigh-based North Carolina State University researchers developed an inhalable powder that can help protect a person's lungs and airways from viral infections.

Hospitalized patients taking proton pump inhibitors — medications used to treat heartburn — may be at a higher risk of acquiring multidrug-resistant bacteria, according to a study published Feb. 23 in JAMA Network Open. 

An 11-year-old Florida boy died of flesh-eating bacteria after spraining his ankle, NBC affiliate WESH reported Feb. 18.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida secured a patent for a "nanomaterial-based disinfectant that can kill several viruses," including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the Orlando-based school said Feb. 20. 

Health officials in Mississippi are continuing to watch the growing number of cases of Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungal infection, which is now believed to be the cause of four deaths in the state, according to a Feb. 20 report…

A recent study found a link between gender and the department in which a patient is hospitalized and mortality and length of stay.

After coming under fire from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company Neuralink is under investigation by the Department of Transportation for allegedly risking human exposure to deadly pathogens via contaminated hardware, CNBC reported Feb. 11.

New York state dropped its masking requirement regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status in hospitals on Feb. 12, giving healthcare organizations the ability to set their own masking guidelines going forward.