Infections

Hygiene: Fighting infections

The motive was clear. Lowering Germany’s comparatively high nosocomial infection rate – the reason for an amendment to the Hygiene Act passed in 2011 – called for improved hygiene management within the hospitals.

Study confirms universal decolonization of ICU patients

Patients' pathogen acquisition was reduced with Chlorhexidine gluconate 2% w/v impregnated pad, and intranasal mupirocin ointment - Study published in New England Journal of Medicine confirms universal decolonization of ICU patients reduces bloodstream infections by 44%.

From bad breath to cardiac infarction

More than half of Germany’s population aged between 18 and 74 years cannot show off a gapless set of teeth, and that’s similar in France and worse only in Poland, according to a 2012 study, which also investigated oral hygiene.

Investigating the HFN1 virus

Dutch virologist Ron Fouchier and his colleagues around the world stopped their research into the bird flu virus H5N1 for a whole year to allow an international debate surrounding the benefits and risks of their work.

Spanish Hospital presents its sepsis code at international forum

Hospital Marina Salud de Dénia presented its Sepsis Code at the National Health IT Conference and Exhibition, which recently took place in Birmingham, UK.

Shunning the flu vaccine

Although receding since late March, the 2012-13 seasonal flu epidemic in metropolitan France, appears to be the longest in some 30 years, even if it did not strike the highest numbers, according to the monitoring network Sentinelles-Inserm.

Infectious diseases

Switzerland treads softly when it comes to governing its 26 independent-minded cantons. Yet, when it comes to electronic medical records, the Ministry of Health holds a particular power, not to dare to direct policy inside any canton, but for the exchange of data between the cantons

The Robert Koch Foundation announces the 2013 laureates

Robert Koch Award 2013 goes to Jeffrey I. Gordon for pioneering studies of the human microbiome; Anthony S. Fauci receives the Robert Koch Gold Medal 2013 for outstanding scientific contributions to HIV research

Europe’s policymakers on diagnosis and management of CDI

Urgent action is needed to improve the diagnosis and management of CDI, which is the main cause of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) diarrhoea in industrialised countries. In a report launched today, during a meeting hosted by the European Healthcare and Hospital Federation (HOPE), experts from across Europe highlight the current deficiencies in the management of CDI and outline the steps that are…

Ventilator-associated pneumonia

The use of endotracheal tubes with a dorsal lumen to allow drainage of respiratory secretions is currently not common in Germany, although two meta-analyses from the USA and Canada have already demonstrated that this special technique can reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by 45-50%.

DNA sequencing tackles MRSA outbreak

‘This is a dramatic demonstration that medical genomics is no longer a technology of the future – it is a technology of the here and now' Report: Mark Nicholls

MRSA outbreaks cost a fortune

A new test gives reliable results in just 75 minutes, speeding up combat actions. Since Methicillin-resistant staphy lococcus aureus (MRSA) has developed resistance to antibiotic treatments, infections have become a dreaded occurrence in hospitals worldwide.

The nose knows

Cliff, a two-year-old beagle, has recently demonstrated his talent for detecting Clostridium difficile according to doctors at the Vrije University Medical Centre (VUMC) in Amsterdam.

Researchers pioneer treatment for viral infection

Researchers at Imperial College London have discovered a new way in which a very common childhood disease could be treated.

New price for hospital hygiene und infection prevention

In 2013, the Robert‐Koch‐Stiftung will for the first time award a prize for excellent scientific research and practical measures in the field of hospital hygiene und infection prevention. Healthcare institutions such as hospitals and rehabilitation facilities and research institutes as well as individuals are invited to apply for the prize which is endowed with 50,000 €.

MRSA, C Difficile, staphylococcus

A recent webinar, hosted by the American Association of Clinical Chemistry, featured doctors Duane Newton of the University of Michigan and Susan Novak-Weekly of Kaiser Permanente.

Surgical-site infections increase risk of blood clots

Despite receiving blood thinners and other clot prevention treatment, some patients still develop potentially lethal blood clots in the first month after their operations anyway, especially if they developed a surgical-site infection while in the hospital, according to results of a study at Johns Hopkins.

Nosocomial infections

As in so many European countries, nosocomial infections have hit the headlines in Germany over and over again in recent years – as when three premature babies died in a Bremen neonatal clinic in 2011.

Controlling antimicrobial resistance

There is no other way: We need a comprehensive approach, with everyone living up to their responsibility to combat this serious health threat in their respective areas. The most basic instinct of every living organism is survival. What selects one organism or species over another, in fact, is its capacity to withstand any kind of adverse condition that comes its way – what scientist Herbert…