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We are in the middle of respiratory virus season, which means COVID-19, influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all circulating throughout Oregon. The Oregon Respiratory Virus Dashboards show detailed information about these three viruses to help people in Oregon make informed decisions to protect themselves and those around them. Below we highlight 3 of the 13 dashboards.
Wastewater Monitoring
People infected with COVID-19, flu, or RSV can shed the virus in their feces (poop), even if they don’t have symptoms. The viruses can then be detected in wastewater. This allows wastewater surveillance to track how much virus is spreading in a community over time. The Oregon Wastewater Monitoring Dashboard shows weekly trends of these three viruses in wastewater across the state.
Learn more about how to use wastewater data.
CDC: MMWR
Vaccination Rates
Getting vaccinated is a valuable tool to keep healthcare workers and the patients they care for safe. Oregon data show that, to date, , and 64% of healthcare workers have received a flu vaccine during the 2022–2023 flu season. These dashboards capture county and facility-level data and can be used to watch vaccination progress.
This is just a sample of the 13 dashboards available to help you track the respiratory virus season. Most dashboards are updated on a weekly basis. Check back often, and let us know what data are most useful to you.
Tenforde MW, et al. J Infect Dis. 2023
Want to get weekly updates on the current flu and RSV season in Oregon? Sign up for the weekly RSV Report & Flu Bites, and track data on the Oregon Respiratory Virus Dashboards.
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Infectious Insights
Check out the newest @CDCProjectFirstline micro-learn training on what to do when you see a patient with cough or congestion. Train your team to recognize infection risks and stop the spread of germs.
MicroLearn - Cough and Congestion
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Neighborhood socioeconomic vulnerability may play a role in the emergence and transmission of Candida auris in a community. (link)
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Salem (Mass.) Hospital is notifying about 450 patients who may have been exposed to infection as a result of the improper administration of an intravenous medicine. (link)
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14% of 353 patients surveyed in three Ukrainian hospitals picked up infections while hospitalized, according to a recent study; 60% of the infections were caused by bacteria resistant to carbapenems. (link)
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A CDC-recommended hospital disinfectant may be ineffective against Clostridioides difficile. (link)
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In a Maryland study, patients in long-term care facilities were more likely to be colonized with Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant A. baumanii and Candida auris compared to patients in acute-care facilities. (link)
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Save the date! Love Data Week is February 12–16, 2024. Sign up for email updates at https://myumi.ch/ICPSRLoveDataWeekIntl. #LoveData24
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2024 Dental IPC Webinar Series: The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) are partnering on a free four-part continuing education webinar series in 2024 highlighting the relationship between infection preventionists and the dental field. Click here for more details and to register.
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SHEA Spring 2024 Conference: A reminder that applications for the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) travel scholarships to attend the full SHEA Spring 2024 conference (April 16–19 in Houston, TX) are due on December 15, 2023. The call for abstracts for the conference is also currently open and closes on January 11, 2024.
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2024 APIC Conference: The annual Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology conference registration opens January 17th. The conference will be in San Antonio, Texas June 3–5.
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Get to know the exceptional members of our OHA HAI team. This quarter, we introduce Monika E. Samper.
Monika E. Samper is the Healthcare Worker Influenza Vaccination (fluvax) coordinator and medical record reviewer for the HAI Program at OHA. Monika was an ICU nurse for more than 15 years with Providence and OHSU. She joined OHA in 2011, and since 2012 has overseen the healthcare worker influenza vaccination initiative. She collects and reports data from almost 400 Oregon hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis facilities and skilled nursing centers. Her contributions extend beyond Oregon, as she collaborates on CDC studies, including a pivotal one during the pandemic that delved into how healthcare providers contracted COVID-19.
Away from her valuable public health work, Monika's diverse interests include a history of drag racing in high school and college. These days, she sticks to milder sports such as wakeboarding, snowboarding, and hanging out with her six children and two grandchildren. She is also an avid knitter and quilter, when she isn’t walking her Bernese Mountain Dog and Chihuahua. Her favorite quote, which is tattooed on her ankle in Japanese is “Forever Young,” and she tries to live that mantra every day.
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Do you have a question about antimicrobial stewardship? Send it to us, and Liz Breitenstein, PharmD, RPh, Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist, will answer it in a future edition.
Like viral respiratory illnesses, antibiotic prescribing also peaks during the winter months. This pattern of antibiotic prescribing may be driven by both appropriate use (such as treating secondary bacterial infections in the wake of influenza) and inappropriate use (like treating viral infections).
The winter months provide an opportunity to focus on two core strategies of combatting antibiotic-resistant infections: improving appropriate antibiotic use and preventing infection through vaccination.
Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections of viral origin has been an ongoing challenge in antimicrobial stewardship. At least 28% of all outpatient antibiotic prescriptions in the U.S. are inappropriately prescribed.
Antibiotics do not work on viruses, such as those that cause flu, COVID-19, colds and runny noses—even if the mucus is thick, yellow, or green. Antibiotics are not needed for most cases of bronchitis, and may not be needed for sinus and ear infections.
Studies have found that increased influenza vaccination is associated with significant reductions in antibiotic prescribing in the U.S. Vaccination against influenza may reduce antibiotic consumption by reducing the burden of influenza-like illness that is commonly mistreated with antibiotics and also by preventing secondary bacterial infections. Boosting seasonal influenza vaccination in the community is an important element of antimicrobial stewardship.
International Vaccine Institute
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Yes. Studies conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic supported the safety of getting a flu and COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit. Data are limited on getting a flu and RSV vaccine at the same time, since RSV vaccines are new. However, in clinical trials, coadministration of RSV and flu vaccines was safe. There are no clinical trial data on getting all three vaccines at the same time, but CDC is continuing to monitor safety as it does for all vaccines.
People who get more than one of these vaccines at the same visit may be more likely to have injection-site reactions or other common side effects like fatigue, headache, and muscle aches. Those reactions have been mostly mild and short-lived.
You can get two vaccines in the same arm at least an inch apart, or you can get them in different arms.
If you prefer to receive each vaccine at a separate visit, there is no minimum waiting period between vaccines.
For the data lovers who were gifted socks this year.
#LoveDataWeek February 12–16
Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/VapZng2
Enjoy a dose of infectious humor with a HAI-larious joke that's sure to brighten your day! Have a great joke in mind? Send us your jokes and we’ll feature you in one of our upcoming newsletters.
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Sign up for our newsletter to receive regular updates, explore new resources added to our website, and reach out to us with any questions or ideas you'd like to see in future newsletters. Let us know!
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Oregon Health Authority works to transform the health care system in Oregon by lowering and containing costs, improving quality and increasing access to care to improve the lifelong health of Oregonians. OHA is overseen by the nine-member citizen Oregon Health Policy Board working toward comprehensive health reform in our state.
The HAI program within the OHA Public Health Division is dedicated to preventing and containing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and addressing the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AR). Through initiatives such as the Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory Network (AR Lab Network) and the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), we are bolstering our ability to detect and respond to antibiotic resistance while strengthening the nation's most widely used HAI tracking system. We also focus on antibiotic stewardship to improve the appropriate use of antibiotics, and we provide comprehensive infection prevention and control (IPC) education and training to equip the health care workforce with the necessary skills. Our team further offers IPC consultations to health care facilities throughout the state, providing expert guidance and support in implementing effective infection prevention strategies and responding to outbreaks. Together, we are committed to enhancing patient safety and reducing the impact of HAIs and antimicrobial resistance.
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