Prevention

A new model of the within-host evolutionary arms race between viral pathogens and the adaptive immune responses intended to fight them suggests that vaccines based on genetically diverse sets of viral antigens may be more likely to stimulate the production of antibodies capable of neutralizing broad panels of virions.

Scientists at Michigan Technological University have created a process for creating synthetic DNA that prevents cells from forming harmful proteins that result in a number of maladies; this process can lead to the development of more effective gene therapy drugs.

While antibiotics serve a meaningful purpose in treating infections, appropriate use of these agents is needed in order to minimize adverse events.

Robin Jump, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the Case Western Reserve University, discusses how 'careful observation' can be used to decrease the number of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in the healthcare setting.

Researchers have investigated the risks and benefits regarding administering measles vaccines to infants under the age of 9 months.

A new discovery made by researchers at Harvard Medical School suggests that SED proteins, proteins that had previously been overlooked, have turned out to be “major players” in bacterial cell wall synthesis.

Robin Jump, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the Case Western Reserve University, outlines ways that healthcare providers can improve the prevention and management of C. difficile in post-acute care facilities.

Sarah Krein, PhD, RN, health services researcher and research scientist at VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, explains the collaborative efforts of human factors engineers and infection prevention.

Sarah Krein, PhD, RN, health services researcher and research scientist at VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, explains how the new concept of human factors engineering can be used in infection prevention.

Frank Drews, MS, PhD, professor of cognitive and neural sciences at the University of Utah, Department of Psychology, discusses the steps that are involved in developing a better understanding of tasks through the conceptual framework of adherence engineering.

Frank Drews, MS, PhD, professor of cognitive and neural sciences at the University of Utah, Department of Psychology, discusses how psychological analysis of human behavior has lead his team to produce adherence engineering kits that would reducing physical effort and decreasing negative patient outcomes.

Researchers have found that although HIV makes individuals more susceptible to acquire tuberculosis, it is not the cause of the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Thomas Sandora, MD, MPH, hospital epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, discusses the risk factors for healthcare associated infections in hospital settings that are unique to children.

Grace Lee, MD, MPH, associate medical director, Infection Control, Boston Children’s Hospital, discusses the current VAP bundle and its focus on infectious conditions as well as the need for a VAC bundle that will prevent other causes of VAC for patients on the ventilator.

Thomas Sandora, MD, MPH, hospital epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, provides recommendations on discussing hand hygiene amongst healthcare providers and between patients and healthcare workers.

Matt Linam, MD, MS, medical director of Infection Prevention at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, discusses the importance of isolation precautions to prevent healthcare associated infections.

Researchers from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit have found that a 5-minute CRP test can assist in the ongoing fight against antibiotic resistance by reducing antibiotic misuse for respiratory infections.

Chlamydia has posed a healthcare challenge for clinicians due to the serious complications associated with it.

Thomas Sandora, MD, MPH, hospital epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, discusses some up and coming pediatric healthcare associated infection prevention strategies.

Grace Lee, MD, MPH, associate medical director, Infection Control, Boston Children’s Hospital, discusses ways to prevent ventilator-associated conditions in hospital settings.

A new treatment has been discovered by researchers at The University of Sheffield that can be used to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA, by using proteins called tetraspanins.

Thomas Sandora, MD, MPH, hospital epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, explains the different ways to prevent bloodstream infections in children and pneumonia for children who are on ventilators in pediatric settings.

In a recent study, researchers identified three key factors that increase the risk for patient-to-patient transmission of carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriacecae (CP-CRE).

The IDSA and ATS have updated the Clinical Practice Guidelines for HAP & VAP for the first time since 2005 to recommend that each hospital generate antibiograms and reduce the use of antibiotics in treatment regiments.

The world’s largest public-private partnership has been formed in a collective effort to battle antimicrobial resistance through a global project, CARB-X, which will be comprised of expert product developers who will research and develop new antimicrobial products.

Researchers have made an important breakthrough in efforts to develop a test to help clinicians determine whether a patient has a microbial infection or sterile trauma, a new study shows.

Michael Calderwood, MD, MPH, previously assistant hospital epidemiologist and associate director of antimicrobial stewardship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, outlines ways in which infection prevention strategies can be modified to fit the needs of immunocompromised individuals.

A new study conducted by Andreas Peschel, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Tuebingen in Germany, has shown that lugdunin, a bacteria naturally produced by the human body, can be used as an antibiotic that can eliminate Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

An international team of researchers has identified a potential role for certain monoclonal antibodies in developing a treatment for Zika virus.

In response to the growing outbreak, and the escalating need for a vaccine that can be used in infants, those who are immunocompromised, and other populations in whom currently available vaccines are not to be administered, the NIAID has entered a vaccine manufactured by Bavarian Nordic into Phase I trials.