Infectious Diseases


CDC Starts National Anti-MRSA Campaign

It's time to teach parents, through posters and other media, how to prevent these infections in their children, the agency has decided.

CDC Says Few American Adults are Sufficiently Vaccinated

The Centers for Disease Control has warned that far too few American adults are being vaccinated against serious, even deadly diseases. A study by CDC found that less than five percent of American adults are up-to-date on all of their immunizations.

HHS, Homeland Security Release Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Guidance

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security have released Guidance on Allocating and Targeting Pandemic Influenza Vaccine. The purpose of the guidance is to provide a planning framework to help state, tribal, local, and community leaders ensure that vaccine allocation and use will reduce the impact of a pandemic on public health.

ISEA Seeks Comments by Sept. 22 on Revised First Aid Kit Standard

Hand sanitizers would be added to the recommended supplies list, and a new label would indicate each workplace's supplies should answer its particular needs.

Medline Campaign Focuses on Ridding Hospital-Acquired Conditions

The initiative includes a $1 million grant program aimed at the prevention of HACs targeted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Pennsylvania Steps Up Spraying to Combat West Nile

Higher-than-normal counts of mosquitoes carrying the virus prompt increased evening spraying in four southeastern counties.

Hospital Disinfectant Firm Forced to Implement Quality Assurance Program

In March 2007, EPA charged the firm with making false claims about the effectiveness of its products against microbial pests.

CDC Updates Guidance for Bloodborne Pathogens After Mass-Casualty Events

CDC Updates Guidance for Bloodborne Pathogens After Mass-Casualty Events

The recommendations pertain only to bombings and other mass-casualty events, the agency noted, and not to "routine" emergency responses.



FDA Approves Six 2008-2009 Flu Vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it changed all three strains for this year's influenza vaccine -- an unusual occurrence because usually only one or two strains are updated from year to year.

New Online Safety Social Network Seeks Traction

Workplace safety professionals who want the ability to interact with each other more than just once a year at trade shows and conferences now have a new resource.

APIC Applauds CMS Payment Restrictions on Certain Infections

"We favor a balanced approach for payment that recognizes institutions that are making progress in reducing infections, rather than an all-or-nothing system based solely on non-payment for infections deemed preventable," said APIC CEO Kathy Warye.

Report: Dog Bites, Diarrhea Most Cited Post-China Travel Complaints

China has the second highest number of cases of human rabies in the world, according to the report. In 2006, 140,000 animal bites were reported in Beijing, and, throughout China, nearly 3,300 people died from rabies the same year.

Hospital Infection Control Survey Highlights Hand Hygiene

Many respondents indicated that their hospital had achieved hand hygiene compliance of 70 percent or higher before as well as after patient contact.

H5N1 Avian Flu Strain Shown to Infect Bovine Calves

'Bird-to-calf transmission resulting in seroconversion is probable," the German researchers concluded.

Flu Pandemic Report Outlines Home Health Providers' Role

A new report identifies home health care as a critical component in providing care during a pandemic flu event and offers resources to home health providers and community planners to prepare for such an event.

Pneumonia Cost to Hospitals Hit $10 Billion in 2006

More than 1.2 million Americans were hospitalized for pneumonia in 2006, making this lung infection the most common reason for admission to a hospital other than childbirth, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported.

After Initial Post-9/11 Ailments, the Dogs are All Right

The findings are in contrast to some human emergency responders who worked at the World Trade Center site, possibly due to differences between human and animal airways and differences in lung defense mechanisms, a new study concludes.

Fourth AHA Journal to Debut in August

The American Heart Association has set August for the premier of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, the fourth in a series of six new titles to be published under the banner of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The journals will be published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Dog Bites Olympian? CDC Offers Tips for Beijing-Bound Travelers

Olympic travelers should worry less about exotic diseases, and instead focus on preventing more mundane health problems like respiratory illness and dog bites, according to a new study by experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, which found that during the past 10 years dog bites were actually one of the more common health problems travelers face when visiting China. Other common ailments were respiratory infections, skin problems, injuries, and diarrhea.

CDC: Get Tested for HIV Today

Today is National HIV Testing Day, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says focuses on the importance of knowing one's current human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection status.

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