The Infection Control Today® personal protective equipment page offers written and video content on the proper use and—during the time of COVID-19 surges—reuse of PPE, including masks, respirators, gloves, gowns, face shields, goggles, and more. What are the proper donning and doffing methods? How long can PPE be extended? How are these items decontaminated? What comprises proper fit testing? Our experts will tell you.
September 12th 2024
Learn about the new Recertification option for the a-IPC certification, and the APIC's Emerging Infectious Diseases Task Force, and the Mpox Playbook.
Infectious Disease Experts Call for Action on Antimicrobial Stewardship
July 13th 2012Infectious disease experts say we are on the brink of losing our last line of defense against pathogenic microorganisms -- antibiotics and other antimicrobials -- unless the healthcare industry and policy-makers significantly improve efforts to preserve these drugs' effectiveness through antimicrobial stewardship initiatives.
The Sharps Safety Agenda: Acknowledging Past Progress, Working Toward the Future
June 22nd 2012Capitalizing on the momentum created by a 2010 conference, a new consensus statement released this spring focuses on the future of the prevention of needlesticks and other sharps-related injuries and creates a road map for achieving improved occupational health and safety among healthcare workers.
CDC Experts Outline Steps to Prevent the Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae
June 21st 2012Today on Medscape, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts Drs. Raymund Dante and Alice Guh provide step-by-step guidance for healthcare professionals that can help protect their patients by preventing the transmission of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in their facilities. CRE are resistant to almost all drugs and can contribute to death in 40 percent of patients who become infected. Not only are these organisms associated with high mortality rates, but they have the potential to spread quickly.
Risk Compensation and Optimistic Bias: Why Healthcare Workers are Not Getting Vaccinated
June 18th 2012Each year, approximately 5 percent to 20 percent of Americans get infected with the influenza virus. With more than 200,000 hospitalizations each year for flu-related complications, it is a wonder that less than 50 percent of eligible citizens take preventive action by getting a flu shot (CDC, 2011b). Vaccination rates have been shown to vary greatly between age groups and demographics, but one particularly interesting cohort to examine is that of healthcare workers.