In this episode, Brett and Martin report on a visit to the massive Interclean Expo held biannually in Amsterdam and the Healthcare Hygiene meeting. We report on the staggering range of equipment available and the fact that IPC often has little say in this especially if there are potential risks, referring to a previous podcast https://infectioncontrolmatters.podbean.com/e/investigating-a-unique-cpeoutbreak-a-possible-new-place-to-look/   Click here for a video of one hall at Interclean (of 12).   ..read more

In this episode, Martin has been on the road again and talks to two poster presenters at the IPAC-Canada 2024 conference. In the first part, Martin talks to Margaret Cameron from Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Ontario about the use of the Multiple Mini Interviewing approach to the selection of suitable candidates to become part of the hospital Environmental Service Attendant team. This innovative approach uses scenarios to test a candidate's suitability for this important role. In the second part, Karrie Yausie from Saskatchewan health Authority talks about a blip in orthopaedic implant ..read more

This week we have a second batch of posters that we liked at ESCMID Global and will be talking about: VRE Surveillance using hospital waste water during an outbreak Assessing the Hawthorne effect: Implications and solutions The impact of an early Infectious Disease consultation for CLABSI: a single centre retrospective study Semi-continuous disinfection of sinks with UVC on a haematologydepartment for infection prevention Urinary tract microbiome of asymptomatic individuals with spinal cord injury Nurses known to be colonized with livestock-associated MRSA did not cause transmission to patien ..read more

It was day 3 at ESCMID Global 2024 and Phil, Brett and Martin mull over the day. Amongst the items we discuss are: What does endogenous really mean? AI in the IPC space - friend or foe? Fungal outbreaks - epidemiological challenges and tracing the source Automated bloodstream infection surveillance The Euro PPS survey results - data in action (or inaction) Subsequent to the podcast recording the ECDC PPS results have been published and can be found here: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/healthcare-associated--infections-antimicrobial-use-point-prevalence-survey-2016-2 ..read more

In this episode, Phil, Brett and Martin dicuss more sessions from ESCMID Global (Barcelona, 2024). We talk about sessions on cleaning the occupied bed space, SSI prevention and the difficulty of designing and executing good studies in IPC. We were particularly interested in papers from Italy on the use of probiotics in IPC and some papers from Prof Cassini's group are highlighted below. Calabro GE, Caselli E, Rognoni C, Laurenti P, Moscato U, ML DIP, et al. [Health Technology Assessment of the introduction of the Probiotic Cleaning Hygiene System (PCHS) in the Italian healthcare setting: upda ..read more

In this podcast, Brett and Martin reflect on the "Infection Control Papers of the Year" presented at ECCMID (AKA ESCMID Global) 2024. Here are a selection of some of the papers mentioned: Decolonization in Nursing Homes to Prevent Infection and Hospitalization https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37815935/ Reducing Hospitalizations and Multidrug-Resistant Organisms vi a Regional Decolonization in Hospitals and Nursing Homes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38557703/ Prevention of non-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia in Switzerland: a type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation ..read more

In our first episode from ECCMID Global 2024, Martin and Brett reflect on the session on design of the healthcare environment sessions from Profs Hilary Humphries and Cath Noakes and a flash poster session featuring VRE Reservoirs in the environment and a tremendous piece of  Burkolderia sleuthing from the UKHSA ..read more

In this podcast, we chat with Dr Brian Forde about HAIviz. HAIviz an interactive dashboard for visualising and integrating healthcare-associated genomic epidemiological data. HAIviz displays and links the outbreak timeline, building map, phylogenetic tree, patient bed movements, and transmission network on a single interactive dashboard. You can view and use the tool for free at Permana, B., Harris, P. N., Roberts, L. W., Cuddihy, T., Paterson, D. L., Beatson, S. A., & Forde, B. M. (2024). HAIviz: an interactive dashboard for visualising and integrating healthcare-associated genomic epidem ..read more

In this episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Mitch Clarke, Clinical Lead and Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Nottingham University Hospitals in the UK. We discuss an outbreak with a unique NDM CPE infection and look at where the investigations went, including a new reservoir that is a potential source - the floor scrubber. Papers underpinning this work are here: 1. Benbow A, Clarke M, Yates C, Montgomery R, Staniforth K, Boswell T, et al. Hospital-wide healthcare-associated carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales outbreak: risks of electric floor scrubbers in catering facil ..read more

In this episode, Martin Talks to Dr Mark Wilcox OBE, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Leeds, Head of Microbiology Research & Development at Leeds University Hospitals NHS Trust and National Clinical Director for Infection Prevention and Control at NHS England. We mull over the possible reasons for the increase in hospital-onset, hospital attributed cases in England, including ribotypes and antibiotic use. Given that the NHS is under great stress, we discuss the damage potential from a ribotype 955 which shares some genetic characteristics with the 027 ribotype that caused so ..read more