JHI have just published an interesting point prevalence HCAI and AMR study from Ukraine. Headlines are that rates of both HCAI and AMR are higher than you’d hope to see, especially with rates of resistant to carbapenems in Gram-negative bacteria and meticillin in S. aureus.
Continue readingMonth: January 2023
Comparing SARS-CoV-2 air and surface contamination in the first vs. second waves
Way back during the first wave of COVID-19 (April 2020), we got our swabs out and sampled surfaces and air across a range of settings in the hospital. This cross-sectional study identified SARS-CoV-2 RNA on a rather startling 52% of surfaces and 45% of air samples collected from across the hospital and some public areas. During the second wave (January 2021), we undertook a similar exercise, and identified a vastly different level of contamination with SARS-CoV-2 RNA: 5% of surfaces and 4% of air samples. What had changed between April 2020 and January 2021 to explain this difference? A whole host of things, and we don’t know for sure – but I suspect that improved testing availability and the introduction of masks for staff and patients were the most important factors.
Continue reading
Reflections on Infection Prevention and Control 