HHM Special Editions
SHEA Decennial Day 2021 Special Issue is Now Available
This special issue of Healthcare Hygiene magazine presents key highlights shared by some of the world’s best and brightest minds who fuel the research and advance the evidence-based agendas of…
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Study Finds More COVID-19 Cases, Deaths for Nursing Homes with More Black Residents
Nursing homes with Black residents had higher rates of COVID-19 infection and deaths during the first wave of the pandemic compared to those with no Black residents, according to new…
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Surfaces Can Be Designed With Antiviral Properties to Mitigate COVID-19
Research Says Screening Healthcare Workers Could Serve as an Early Warning System for Future Viruses
Scientists Identify Considerable Gap in Evidence Around Whether Portable Air Filters Reduce the Incidence of COVID-19
New Cell Atlas of COVID Lungs Reveals Why SARS-CoV-2 is Deadly and Different
CDC Assessment Finds mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Reduce COVID-19-Related Hospitalizations Among Older Adults
Study Says Cloth Face Coverings Can be as Effective as Surgical Masks at Protecting Against COVID-19
Trial of Existing Antibiotic for Treating Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Begins
Exposure to High Heat Neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 in Less Than One Second
Long-term Care Infrastructure Must be Re-imagined in a Post-Pandemic World, Experts Say
Public Health
Presence and Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Identified in Dogs and Cats From Households With Human COVID-19 Cases
Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in domestic animals has been related to close contact with humans diagnosed with COVID-19. Calvet, et al. (2021) sought to assess the exposure, infection, and persistence by…
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Study Asserts That Applying UV Light to Common Disinfectants Makes Them Safer to Use
NIH to Invest $29 Million to Address COVID-19 Disparities
Illnesses of Controversial Celebrities Can Negatively Affect Public Health
Experts Debate the Outdoor Masking Issue
Only 1 in 4 People Experience Mild Systemic Side Effects From COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19 Mobility Restrictions Effective for Short Duration, Study Finds
New Data Could Inform Youth-Focused Pandemic Messaging
Breaking News
FDA Recommends Transition From Use of Decontaminated Disposable Respirators
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is recommending healthcare personnel and facilities transition away from crisis capacity conservation strategies, such as decontaminating or bioburden reducing disposable respirators for reuse. Based…
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NIH Clinical Trial Evaluating Moderna COVID-19 Variant Vaccine Begins
CDC Issues First Set of Guidelines on How Fully Vaccinated People Can Visit Safely with Others
ASTM International Announces Barrier Face Covering Standard
New ACIP Adult Immunization Schedule Recommends Changes to Several Vaccines
Clinical Trial in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Evaluates Long-acting Antibody Therapy
Outcomes of COVID-19 Among Hospitalized Healthcare Workers in North America
Influenza
Patients of Women Doctors More Likely to be Vaccinated Against the Flu, Research Indicates
New UCLA research suggests that elderly patients of female physicians are more likely than those of male physicians in the same outpatient practice to be vaccinated against the flu. This…
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New Research Shows Substantially Higher Burden of COVID-19 Compared to Flu
Researchers Find That Discriminating COVID-19 From Influenza Patients Based on Clinical Presentation is Challenging
Researchers Pursue a General Influenza Vaccine
Easy-to-Deliver mRNA Treatment Shows Promise for Stopping Flu and COVID-19 Viruses
Research News
How T-cells Detect Invaders
Pulse Oximeters More Useful in COVID-19 Screening for Older Adults
Our Immune System Blankets the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein With Antibodies
Study Suggests Hospital Mortality Rates Dropped Rapidly in the U.S. After May 2020 but Have Not Declined Further
Researchers Identify Protein “Signature” of Severe COVID-19
Young People Know Too Little About Pathogens Such as COVID-19, Experts Say
Study Traces Back the Progenitor Genomes Causing COVID-19 and Geospatial Spread
HHS Awards $32 Million-Plus in American Rescue Plan Funding to Expand COVID-19 Training and Support for Health Centers
Patient Characteristics, COVID-19 In-Hospital Mortality in U.S. During COVID-19
Factors Associated With Access, Timing of Coronavirus Testing After Onset of Fever
How SARS-CoV-2 Hijacks Human Cells to Evade Immune System
Study Finds Similar Long-term Outcomes for Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients Treated With and Without ECMO
Environmental Hygiene
Texas Biomed Scientists Partner with DoD to Test Decontamination Technologies Against SARS-CoV-2
Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) received two Department of Defense (DoD)’s Defense Health Agency subcontracts to assess the efficacy of surface coating and aerosolized decontamination technologies to combat SARS-CoV-2…
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Negligible Detection of SARS-CoV2 Found in Environmental Surface Testing of Hematology, Oncology Inpatient and Outpatient Settings
Researchers Conduct Review on Use, Cost and Clinical Efficacy of Automated Decontamination Devices
Scientist Develops and Validates a Method to Test Surfaces for Virus Particles
Bacterial Contamination of NICUs
Bacterial but No SARS-CoV-2 Contamination After Terminal Disinfection of ICUs Treating COVID-19 Patients
Contaminated Surfaces as a COVID-19 Risk Factor
Regardless of Product Type, All Disinfectant Wipes had Some Sporicidal Effect but Transferred C. difficile Spores
Hospital Floors Contaminated With Resistant Bacteria Within Hours of Patient Admission
Study Finds Rigorous Cleaning and Disinfection Can Help Prevent Contamination of Near-Patient Surroundings for COVID-19 Patients With Prolonged PCR-Positive Status
Antibiotics/Antimicrobials
Research Reveals Human Immune System Reduces Potency of Antibiotics
Research from the University of Kent’s School of Biosciences has revealed that a molecule produced by the human immune system can severely diminish the potency of certain antibiotics. This may…
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Research Pinpoints Unique Drug Target in Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Antibiotic-Resistant Strains of Staph Bacteria May Be Spreading Between Pigs Raised in Factory Farms and People in North Carolina
Scientists Explore the Action Mechanism of a New Antibiotic
Optimizing Disinfection to Prevent the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance in Wastewater
HAIs
Femoral Site of Catheter Insertion Associated With a Higher Rate of Bloodstream Infection
Increase in Hospital-Acquired CRAB Infection and Colonization During a Surge in COVID-19 Admissions
Low Health Literacy May be a Risk Factor for Postoperative Infection
Three Antiseptic Paints May Be Superior in Reducing Microbial Skin Colonization Prior to Surgery
Modifiable Healthcare Factors Affecting Survival in Bloodstream Infection
Certain Scores May Predict Which Trauma Patients Face High Risk of Multiple Infections
C. diff Carriers Are Common Source of Infections in Healthcare Facilities
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria More Prevalent in Device-Related Infections
Regulatory & Compliance
Sharps Safety & Occupational Exposure: 20th Anniversary of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act Reminds Us Progress Still Necessary
By Kelly M. Pyrek Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Healthcare Hygiene magazine. Twenty years ago, the federal Needlestick Safety & Prevention Act (NSPA)…
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Moving the Needle on Occupational Exposures: A Q&A with Lydia Crutchfield
FDA Convenes Advisory Panel for Further Understanding of the Duodenoscope-Related Infection Risk
Bacterial/Viral Research
Eosinophils Active in Immediate Defense During Influenza A Infection
For the first time in published literature, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) researchers showed that a variety of white blood cells known as…
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Study Reveals How Some Antibodies Can Broadly Neutralize Ebolaviruses
NIH Experts Discuss Post-Acute COVID-19
Study Explains Why Mycobacterium tuberculosis is Highly Resistant to Drugs and Immunity
Researchers Study Presence of Fungi in the Lungs of Healthy Individuals
New Formulation of Existing Drugs Proves Highly Effective Against Drug-Resistant Fungus
MRSA Carriers Have Twice the Mortality Rate of Adults Without the Bacteria
Neutrons Reveal Unpredicted Binding Between SARS-CoV-2, Hepatitis C Antiviral Drug
Diagnostics
Researchers Develop Chip That Improves Testing and Tracing for COVID-19
Jeremy Edwards, director of the Computational Genomics and Technology (CGaT) Laboratory at the University of New Mexico, and his colleagues at Centrillion Technologies in Palo Alto, Calif. and West Virginia…
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Complications of COVID-19 Nasopharyngeal Swab Test
Researchers Design Sensor for Fast, Inexpensive On-site Ebola Detection
Study of ‘Breakthrough’ Cases Suggests COVID Testing May be Here to Stay
All-in-one Test for COVID-19 Surveillance is Developed
A Novel, Quick and Easy System for Genetic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2
New Lyme Disease Test Distinguishes Between Early- and Late-Stage Disease
