The CDC has deployed a team to help address an ongoing measles outbreak that originated at a temporary migrant shelter in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, The Hill reported March 12.

An increase in measles activity this year is coinciding with a rise in potential exposures as infected individuals seek medical care at healthcare facilities across the nation.

In newly published findings from a survey of U.S. infectious disease physicians, only 37% said their facilities conduct screening for Candida auris, a fungus deemed an urgent public health threat due to its resistance to multiple antifungal treatments. 

The New Jersey Department of Health reported a cluster of suspected mumps in Hunterdon County.

The American Medical Association is underscoring the importance of robust sepsis training, particularly for new hires, as U.S. hospitals are increasingly under pressure to do more to reduce and prevent the 270,000 sepsis-induced deaths that occur annually.

CARB-X, a Boston University-led nonprofit that funds projects that focus on antimicrobial stewardship, awarded $467,000 to GlyProVac to develop a maternal vaccine that could prevent sepsis in infants, according to a Feb. 29 news release.

A common practice for treating patients with gastrointestinal conditions has been revised by the American Gastroenterological Association, it announced Feb. 21.

Group B streptococcus is notorious for leading to sepsis in newborns. While there are guidelines for treating the condition, adhering to them is not always followed. 

Cancer patients who are given the oral antibiotic vancomycin following stem cell transplants have greatly reduced rates of Clostridioides difficile infections, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia found. 

Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Canton, Ohio, is taking proactive measures after two patients tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease after stays at the facility, local news outlets reported Feb. 15. 

Oregon confirmed its first bubonic plague case since 2015.

Artificial or natural nails that extend more than one-fourth of an inch beyond the fingertip can harbor more pathogens than short nails, leading to more outbreaks, according to a Feb. 8 article published on Nurse.org.

Improper prescribing or overuse of antifungal creams may actually be making some drug-resistant fungal skin infections worse, according to a CDC report published Jan. 11.

The age-old practice of applying antiseptic to skin prior to surgery on closed fractures could soon shift after a study, published Feb. 1, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that iodine in alcohol solutions prevents surgical site infections.

Newman Regional Health in Emporia, Kan., has launched a real-time notification system that alerts clinicians across the state, providing them with critical information about patients transferring in who may have multidrug-resistant organisms diagnoses, The Emporia Gazette reported Jan. 31.

The CDC says it found "multiple lapses" in proper infection control and prevention procedures at a Florida outpatient cosmetic surgery clinic linked to 15 cases of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), according to a report released Jan. 25.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison formed a "Strike Team" to create oversight and determine the possible cause of surgical site infections that occurred after colorectal surgery.

A shortage of N95 masks in 2020 led the CDC to craft guidelines for healthcare workers who needed to reuse them for multiple shifts, but a new study, published Jan. 26 in JAMA, has found reuse of these masks can hurt their efficacy.

Kevin Tracey, MD, was trained as a neurosurgeon. In 1985, at what was then New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, an 11-month-old girl was brought in with severe burns after a boiling pot of spaghetti water splashed onto her skin. After a month of fighting, she died in Dr. Tracey's arms. He didn't know it then, but the moment would define his life's work researching sepsis.

Many health systems made the strategic choice to suspend elective surgeries during the pandemic, reallocating resources to address the public health crisis. However, in recent months, certain facilities have been forced to pause surgeries for a different, unforeseen reason.