https://tenplay.com.au/news/national/september-2017/hygiene-audit-finds-some-medical-staff-not-meeting-standards We put our lives in the hands of hospital emergency staff every day, but worrying new statistics have revealed… they may be dirty ones. The national handwashing audit, run by Hand Hygiene Australia as part of a federal Government push to cut deadly hospital acquired infections,...
http://www.contagionlive.com/news/vaccine-preventable-diseases-in-the-dental-arena In a recent review article published in the journal Dental Clinics of North America, Leslie R. Halpern, DDS, MD, PhD, MPH, from Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, highlights vaccine-preventable diseases that pose a high risk in the dental healthcare setting. Noting the global increase in transmissible...
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/874851 Infection Transmission in Dental Healthcare Reports of transmission of infectious agents between patients and dental healthcare personnel (DHCP) in dental settings are rare. However, a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) article in the Journal of the American Dental Association[1] identified three published reports...
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/simple-act-of-hand-washing-the-best-first-defence-against-infection-20170416-gvlvyl.html It's the simplest method of infection control, it's practically free and if it were always practised, it could save more than 1500 lives a year in this country – more than the road toll. And yet it has proved difficult to get our healthcare workers – particularly doctors – to...
http://www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-37/issue-4/contents/in-a-rush-infection-control.html If you are looking for something to do, might I make a suggestion? Stop and step back for a minute. Sometimes I feel like I am in such a rush to get things done in the dental setting that I simply do not have time...
http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2017/04/researchers-detect-protein-that-increases-effectiveness-of-vaccines.aspx Researchers have discovered a protein they believe would help make vaccinations more effective and provide protection from other diseases such as cancer. The findings, which appear online in Scientific Reports, allows for greater understanding of how vaccine enhancers work and can best be used. Researchers from...
http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2017/03/standard-precautions-studies-indicate-suboptimal-adherence.aspx - By Kelly M. Pyrek Standard precautions (SPs) are one of the cornerstones of infection prevention and control, designed to limit bloodborne pathogen exposures among healthcare workers (HCWs) and halt the transmission of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) to patients. To review, the components include hand hygiene, use...
http://guelph.ctvnews.ca/health-inspector-finds-reused-gloves-other-issues-at-lifelabs-clinic-1.3323296 A complaint from a resident prompted an investigation of the LifeLabs clinic in Fergus last November. What the inspector found, the medical officer of health for the area says, was that the clinic wasn’t following all the rules when it came to infection control protocols. “Once we...
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/new-laws-to-give-health-officers-more-power-to-act-on-poor-hygiene-20170306-gurxfr.html - New legislation will "empower" Queensland Health officers to shut down or fine facilities for poor hygiene practices, Health Minister Cameron Dick said on Monday. The legislation, which Mr Dick plans to introduce to parliament by the end of March, is in response to the December...
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/869813 Clinicians Spreading Germs In hospitals, patients are supposed to get better, not worse. And doctors are considered healers, not agents of harm. But evidence shows that insufficient hand-washing by clinicians spreads germs. Infection-control experts are exploring how, other than hand transmission, physicians and healthcare workers are spreading...