Hospital Infection Control & Prevention – July 1, 2023
July 1, 2023
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Lax Infection Control Suspected in Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
Infection control lapses, including the contamination of multidose vials of anesthetic, are suspected in a fungal meningitis outbreak that exposed about 200 American patients who received epidural injections this year in the border town of Matamoros, Mexico.
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Multidose Vials Linked to HCV Spread in Clinic
An outbreak of hepatitis C virus among four patients at a Los Angeles pain clinic in September 2022 likely was caused by improper use of needles and multidose vials of local anesthetic.
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Antibiotic Stewardship Must Overcome Deeply Held Dogma
Antibiotic therapy is steeped in dogma from case-series studies conducted in the 1940s and 1950s, which generated “low-quality” but persistent evidence before the era of widespread clinical trials, Emily Spivak, MD, said at the 2023 conference of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
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CMS Ends COVID Shot Mandate for HCWs
On Nov. 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began requiring healthcare workers to receive at least the initial series of COVID-19 vaccine. After considerable hue and cry — marked by lawsuits and resignations — the requirement was officially rescinded on June 5, 2023.
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APIC Supports Ending CMS Vaccine Mandate
In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology supported the end of mandated COVID-19 vaccines for healthcare workers and suggested adding two key hospital infection risks as quality indicators.
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FDA Approves New COVID Vaccine for Fall
COVID-19 advisors to the FDA voted unanimously to approve a new monovalent vaccine for the coming fall containing the currently predominant omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.