The CDC has released new recommendations for prevention and control of Staphylococcus aureus infections in neonatal intensive care units.
The recommendations are based on a systematic review of the best available literature through August 2019 as well as relevant literature published since that has been recommended by subject matter experts. Click here for more details on the development of the guidelines.
The recommendations include performing active surveillance testing for staph infection among NICU patients when there is an increased incidence of infection or in the case of an outbreak and for methicillin-resistant S. aureus infection when there is evidence of ongoing healthcare-associated transmission within the unit. It suggests testing at regular intervals to identify newly infected patients promptly.
The guidelines also suggest healthcare facilities consider targeted decolonization for infected NICU patients in addition to appropriate infection prevention and control measures in the midst of an outbreak, when there is ongoing healthcare-associated transmission or there is an increase in
the incidence of infection.
Read the full guidance here.