Ways to Share These Resources

• This resource covers infection prevention topics in the daily work of CNAs, such as feeding, oral care, bathing, skin/ perineal care, positioning and more.
• Plus, this training is easy to deliver with recordings of trainings, engaging PowerPoint slides, and fun knowledge checks to keep things interesting.

Target Audience: Foundational IPC education level 

Regulation & Guidance Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

• Rapid Evidence Product: Active Infection Surveillance of Clostridioides difficile ( diff) and Multidrug-Resistant Organisms: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), and Candida auris(5/9/2024)
  • A summary of relevant and recent literature on active surveillance strategies in patient populations to reduce infection transmission of Clostridioides difficile, MRSA, CRE, and Candida auris.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• H5N1 Bird Flu: Current Situation Summary(5/24/2024)
  • H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with two cases of H5 in U.S. dairy workers. 
  • While the current public health risk is low, CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures. 
  • CDC is using its flu surveillance systems to monitor for H5N1 activity in people. 
• Health Advisory: Meningococcal Disease Cases Linked to Travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Ensure Pilgrims are Current on Meningococcal Vaccination (5/20/2024)
  • Since April 2024, 12 cases of meningococcal disease linked to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) travel for Umrah have been reported to national public health agencies in multiple countries including the United States. 
  • Healthcare providers in the United States should:
    • Recommend quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccination for people considering travel to KSA to perform Hajj or Umah (pilgrims) in addition to routine meningococcal vaccination for adolescents and other people at increased meningococcal disease risk.  
    • Maintain a heightened index of suspicion for meningococcal disease among symptomatic people who have recently been in KSA and among close contacts of people who have recently been in KSA, regardless of vaccination status. 
    • Immediately notify the local health department about any suspected or confirmed cases of meningococcal disease. 
    • Consider appropriate postexposure prophylaxis as outlined in the Health Advisory.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Updates on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (5/20/2024)

• FDA is providing routine updates on avian influenza and the ongoing work to ensure continued effectiveness of the federal-state milk safety system

World Health Organization

• Global Technical Consultation Report on Proposed Terminology for Pathogens that Transmit Through the Air (4/18/2024)
  • This report identified terminology that could be understood and accepted by different technical disciplines to help seek consensus with describing pathogens transmitted through the air that cause infections in humans. 
  • Consensus was reached on the term ‘infectious respiratory particles’ (IRPs), moving away from a strict separation of particle sizes, and accepting that smaller IRPs can be transmitted at both short and long-range depending on several influencing factors. 
  • The report outlined considerations for the use of the phrase ‘transmission through the air’ as an umbrella term to describe the transmission of IRPs through the air via airborne transmission or direct deposition (e.g., short distance particle transmission that are directly deposited in exposed mucous membranes of the face). 

Dental Infection Prevention Star

Thank you Tatjana for being a champion for infection prevention in dental settings and working hard to keep patients safe!