Implementation of a national safety program that helps US hospitals to establish antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) and clinicians to improve their antibiotic decision-making was associated with reduced antibiotic use and fewer hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infections, according to a study today in JAMA Network Open. The study, conducted by researchers with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the University of Chicago, [...]

From its first human case in 1952 until just a few years ago, the Zika virus had affected relatively few people in Africa and Asia and was typically accompanied by mild symptoms: fever, body aches, rash, pink eye. Most people didn’t have any symptoms. But when it first appeared in the Americas in 2015 and was [...]

Background Human to human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is driven by the respiratory route but little is known about the pattern and quantity of virus output from exhaled breath. We have previously shown that face-mask sampling (FMS) can detect exhaled tubercle bacilli and have adapted its use to quantify exhaled SARS-CoV-2 RNA in patients admitted to hospital [...]

As countries roll out vaccines that prevent COVID-19, studies are under way to determine whether shots can also stop people from getting infected and passing on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Vaccines that prevent transmission could help to bring the pandemic under control if they are given to enough people. Preliminary analyses suggest that at least some vaccines [...]

Question  What are the independent associations of voluntary behavioral change and legal restrictions, such as state-mandated school closings, with the subsequent spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the US? Findings  In this cross-sectional study of US COVID-19 data, voluntary behavioral changes, such as reductions in time spent at work, had an association with [...]

In tests conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), a new screening technology from Smiths Detection broke new ground in efforts to find and contain COVID-19: the capability to detect the virus SARS-CoV-2 in the air. The BioFlesh Biological Identifier is a cell-based biosensor powered device paired with aerosol-collection techniques. Through [...]

The west African country of Guinea declared an Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak last week on Feb. 14 and to date seven cases and 5 deaths have been reported. 2,019 kilometers away in Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) issued a Public Health Advisory. The NCDC has an existing multisectoral National Emerging Viral Hemorrhagic Diseases Working Group (EVHDWG). [...]

MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. A novel bird flu has been detected in seven workers of a poultry farm in southern Russia, Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova said at a briefing on Saturday. “Scientists of the Vector Center isolated the genetic material of this kind of [...]

Abstract Domestic chores are an important part of the household’s daily routine and can contribute significantly to personal exposure. In this study, the particulate mass and number concentrations were assessed when using two irons (steam iron and steam iron with boiler) under distinct conditions (minimum ventilation and indoor doors open) and in the background air. [...]

Since the start of the pandemic, ABM teams have been working closely with facilities executives to create strategies and deploy plans to help keep people safe from viral spread. With ​research now suggesting that COVID-19 droplets may remain in the air and could be a primary source of transmission, the ​conversation has expanded to indoor [...]