More health systems have implemented mask rules in recent weeks amid an uptick in respiratory virus activity and growing concerns over potential capacity issues this winter.

The simple act of tooth brushing at least once per day can lower a patient's risk of getting infected with hospital-acquired pneumonia, according to a study published Dec. 18 in JAMA.

As antibiotic resistance grows, so does research toward preventing and treating Clostridioides difficile, a bacterium known to be one of the leading causes of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. patients that can sometimes turn fatal. Often, infections from it occur while a patient is on antibiotics or shortly after they have finished a course. 

Patients staying in a hospital bed previously occupied by a patient with a Clostridium difficile infection have a higher risk of contracting one themselves, according to new research published Dec. 13 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 

Before a CDC advisory committee votes whether to update its 13-year-old infection control rules in healthcare settings, critics of the guidance's draft say the proposal is confusing and too lenient, KFF Health News reported Dec. 14. 

A patient at a WVU Medicine facility has tested positive for Candida auris, a spokesperson for the Morgantown, W.Va.-based health system confirmed to CBS affiliate WDTV Dec. 8. 

Employees at a North Carolina hospital were five times more likely to report infection prevention issues if they faced a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to their co-workers, according to a new study.

For the first time since the pandemic, progress is being made in decreasing healthcare-associated infections at acute care hospitals, according to a new CDC report.

In a milestone moment in the Mile High City, on Nov. 27, Denver Health administered the first live Ebola vaccine for preventative measures to some patients, 9News reported.

Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health is consolidating infectious disease care under one roof through a new center, which opened Nov. 27, the New Haven Register reported.

A CDC-recommended hospital disinfectant is ineffective against Clostridioides difficile, according to a study published Nov. 21 in Microbiology. 

A new report from the nonprofit group the Sepsis Alliance found that while 88% of hospital C-suite leaders think antimicrobial resistance is getting more severe, only 26% graded themselves with an 'A' on their own hospital's efforts to address this.

Fourteen hospitals and health systems have been designated by the Infectious Diseases Society of America as top antimicrobial stewardship centers.

Salem (Mass.) Hospital is notifying some patients who may have been exposed to infection as a result of the improper administration of an intravenous medicine, Boston 25 News reported Nov. 15.

Flu cases are increasing steadily while antiviral prescriptions increase only slightly, according to the latest CDC data.

Nevada has one of the highest C. auris rates in the country, and cases have grown 193% since November 2022, CBS affiliate KLAS reported Nov. 12.

A care team at Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth developed a sepsis-detecting AI tool that could save hundreds of lives per year — and with clinician feedback, they modified it to lessen the burden of a new technology, The Colorado Sun reported Nov. 10. 

COVID-19 was the most deadly infectious disease in 2022, followed by tuberculosis, according to a Statista report.

While new data from The Leapfrog Group's fall safety grades shows hospitals have made progress in reversing a major spike in healthcare-associated infections that occurred during the pandemic, data indicates now is not the time to rest on the laurels of that progress.

The University of Washington Medical Center-Montlake is working with local health officials and the CDC to investigate the source of infection after two patients were diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease.