Posts Tagged ‘Acute Healthcare’
How worried should we be about biocide resistance?
We all know the issues with antibiotic resistance: no matter how quickly we develop new antibiotics, resistance develops and the antibiotics are no longer useful clinically. Biocides are different, as outlined in a recent review paper: resistance is slower to develop, more subtle, and usually less important clinically. But it does happen – more with some…
Read MoreThe impact of an environmental hygiene intervention in reducing the spread of viruses in an office building
Have you suspected your office colleague in giving you that cold? Well, this study suggests that sometimes, you might be right, and that a hygiene intervention including the use of hand sanitising wipes can help to reduce the changes of virus spread in an office setting. The study was performed in an office building in which around…
Read MoreEmergency! Addressing contamination with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in ambulances
The last thing you need if you require the services of an emergency ambulance is exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria from contaminated surfaces. A recent US study suggests that this is commonplace, finding MRSA environmental contamination in every single emergency ambulance tested! These findings reinforce the need for thorough cleaning and disinfection of emergency ambulances. The study team…
Read MoreSink drains as a risk for CPE
There is increasing evidence that sink drains can be contaminated with CPE and that this environmental contamination can find its way onto patients. A new study from the US found that contamination of sink drains with CPE and with carbapenemases was commonplace, and that proximity to toilets was an important predictor of drain contamination. The study was…
Read MorePutting disinfectants through their paces using Candida auris dry surface biofilm efficacy testing
Candida auris is a high-profile emerging pathogen, which has caused large outbreaks both in the UK and elsewhere. C. auris can causes widespread environmental contamination, and isn’t susceptible to all disinfectants. This new study from Cardiff University extends previous findings by developing a dry surface biofilm efficacy testing model for C. auris. Worryingly, half of the disinfectants tested barely touched the C. auris in…
Read MoreUpdates from the Healthcare Infection Society’s 2018 conference
We enjoyed the recent Healthcare Infection Society’s 2018 conference in Liverpool, and thought we’d share a few highlights. You can view all of the submitted abstracts here and the invited abstracts here. The role of the environment in the transmission of HCAI was a strong theme throughout the conference, with key speakers discussing the relative importance of contaminated…
Read MoreLooking back to IPS 2018
It’s been a month or two since the 2018 Infection Prevention Society Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. So, we thought it would be a good time to look back and remind ourselves of some of the highlights from our point of view. You can access all of the IPS abstracts here. – Andreas Voss gave a fabulous…
Read MoreThe 2018 ESPAUR Report: progress but worrying trends
The 2018 English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance (ESPAUR) report has just been released by Public Health England (PHE) and, as with most reports the results show a mixed picture. The good news is that total antibiotic consumption has fallen by 6% over the past four years and is [now] at the lowest level since…
Read MoreConsidering the risk of contamination of privacy curtains in hospitals
A Canadian study reports the findings of a prospective survey of bacterial contamination of privacy curtains in hospitals. The curtains became contaminated with antibiotic resistant bacteria within weeks of being introduced into the clinical environment. The calls into question the management of privacy curtains in the healthcare setting. Previous studies have found that privacy curtains can be contaminated…
Read MoreExtensive environmental contamination with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
A study from Singapore has highlighted extensive environmental contamination with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in the ICU. This reinforces the need for enhanced environmental measures to reduce the transmission of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in the ICU setting. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is in many ways a scary organism: it’s highly resistant to antibiotics with few therapeutic options left in some cases, seems to spread readily…
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