Posts Tagged ‘Research’
Why antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major threat to human health
This week’s article is a summary of the latest Global report published in the Lancet journal, on the effects of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), assessing a range of factors from number of deaths to hospitalisation which directly affects several of the global sustainability goals (SDGs). With an emphasis on efficient infection prevention and control in the…
Read More28 Australian Societies provide consensus on COVID-19 guidelines
Sourcing up-to-date reliable information on COVID-19 management and treatment can be difficult. There are so many different sources of information, from peer-reviewed journals, mainstream media, social media, peers, media statements and ‘preprints’ – or non-peer reviewed journal articles. What makes this even more complicated is the potential bias associated with some of these sources of…
Read MorePartnership will fund new research into preventing healthcare-associated infections
Our exciting new partnership with the University of Newcastle in Australia will fund new research into preventing and controlling infections. One in 10 patients in an Australian hospital today is likely to get an infection they didn’t have when they went into hospital. This partnership is very exciting and will see the University provide vital…
Read MoreAJIC special issue on cleaning, disinfection, antisepsis and sterilisation
The American Journal of Infection Control has recently published a must-read special issue titled: ‘Disinfection, sterilization, and antisepsis: Principles, practices, current issues, new research, and new technologies.’ The special issue features a series of ‘State of the Science Reviews’ by experts in the field on cleaning and disinfection, skin antisepsis, the role of the environment in emerging…
Read MoreMicrofibre and water isn’t magical
There’s a word on the street that microfibre combined with water is suitable for all cleaning challenges. But a study from Prof Jean-Yves Maillard’s lab in Cardiff suggests that water and microfibre alone achieves only a moderate removal of bacteria from surfaces and readily transfers bacteria between surfaces. Adding disinfectants to microfibre enhances their efficacy considerably. The…
Read MoreUV room disinfection system face-off
An important new US study has performed an epic head-to-head evaluation of 8 different UV-based room disinfection systems. Whilst there were some differences between the UVC-based systems, there was a stark difference between the efficacy of the 7 UVC systems and the one pulsed-xenon UV (PX-UV) system, with the PX-UV proving considerably less effective. UV systems are…
Read MoreWhat’s going on with surface disinfection in dental settings?
An interesting new article reviews the history and state-of-the-art for surface disinfection in dentistry settings. Historically, aerosols and sprays were the most common approaches to the delivery of disinfectants in dentistry. However, due to occupational exposure concerns, disinfectant wipes are quickly becoming the most common method for surface disinfection in dental settings. The article spans space and…
Read MoreReducing HCAI through improved training and education
A new randomised controlled intervention study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases by Professor Brett Mitchell and a group of Australia researchers reports that introducing an environmental cleaning bundle reduced the rate of HCAI. A new randomised controlled intervention study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases by Professor Brett Mitchell and a group of Australia researchers reports…
Read MoreFour steps to clean hospitals
Drs Stephanie Dancer and Alex Kramer, two of the biggest names in hospital cleaning and disinfection, have joined forces to write a review in the Journal of Hospital Infection, setting out four steps to clean hospitals. First LOOK, then PLAN, next CLEAN, and finally DRY. The authors identified a gap in the literature: no articles offer a…
Read MoreNew insights into C. difficile transmission
A review paper published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection discusses current trends in our understanding of C. difficile transmission. How much C. difficile infection we see is as a result of transmission within hospitals. How much is explained by acquisition of C. difficile prior to hospitalisation? Evidence is emerging and difficult to interpret, but it seems that more C. difficile infection that we once thought…
Read More