• New: The Republic of Rwanda has reported its first confirmed outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) with 66 laboratory confirmed cases and 15 deaths reported as of October 30, 2024. To date, no cases of MVD have been reported in countries outside of Rwanda. 
• CDC Recommendations:  
  • Rapidly identify and triage patients with relevant exposure history AND signs or symptoms compatible with EVD as outlined in CDC's guidance for Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients in U.S. Hospitals who are Suspected or Confirmed to have Selected Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHF).
  • Follow appropriate infection prevention and control measures to prevent transmission within the healthcare facility, including meticulous use of personal protective equipment. 
  • Contact the local health department immediately for consultation about a suspected case and requests for testing for MVD. 
• Additional Information: Review the CDC Health Advisory and VDH’s clinician letter on MVD (10/8/2024) for further recommendations. 

• New: Baxter, a major U.S. manufacturer of intravenous (IV) solutions, announced reduced supply of IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions due to the damage of its manufacturing plants from Hurricane Helene. 
• VDH Recommendation: All healthcare providers are requested to continue to implement conservation measures to mitigate the potential impacts of this manufacturing disruption.  
• Additional Information: 
  • Baxter Hurricane Helene Updates 
  • Review VDH’s clinician letters (10/8/2024 and 10/21/2024) for more recommendations and resources. 

💡Upcoming CMS HAI Reporting Deadline

• Data submission: Hospitals must submit 2024 Q2 data into NHSN by November 15, 2024, including acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and cancer hospitals.
• Details: To ensure your data is entered correctly, please verify the following:
  • Ensure monthly reporting plans are complete
  • Confirm correct summary and event data entry or mark appropriate "no events" boxes
  • Resolve all alerts on the NHSN facility homepage
  • Hospitals with conferred rights to VDH will receive a quality assurance report in November; please check your email and acknowledge receipt and review
• Additional Information:
  • Please update jacqueline.williams@vdh.virginia.gov with any IP contact changes.
  • For guidance on accurately submitting your data to CMS for Quality Reporting, visit the NHSN website and go to the relevant section for your facility type.

---

💡Updated VDH Healthcare-Associated Infections Acute Care Hospital Annual Report Dashboard

• New: The VDH HAI/AR Program has updated the NHSN Acute Care Hospital HAI Annual Report dashboard.
• Details: Includes data from 2018 through 2023, except for the healthcare personnel influenza vaccination dashboard, which covers 2012/2013 to 2023/2024.
  • In 2023, standardized infection ratios for all HAIs were below 0, except for surgical site infections following abdominal hysterectomy procedures, which had a ratio of 1.03.

---

💡New Hospital Respiratory Data Reporting

• New: Starting November 1, 2024, hospitals must report data on COVID-19, influenza, and RSV electronically through NHSN.
• Additional Information: This information will be reported in the Patient Safety Component of NHSN. A new webpage has been created with additional resources to assist with the reporting process.

---

💡Long-term Care Facility Component: Simplified Data Collection Form

• New: Beginning September 30, 2024, long-term care facilities will use a new form to report case and vaccination data for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV in one place, eliminating the need for separate modules. Reporting requirements and frequency will remain unchanged.
• Additional information: Visit the NHSN Long-term Care Facility Component Respiratory Pathogens and Vaccination webpage.

---

💡NHSN External Validation

• Validation of CLABSI Events: The VDH HAI/AR Program conducted external validation of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) events reported by acute care hospitals in Virginia for 2023.
  • NHSN validation specialists evaluated the reporting practices of 8 acute care hospitals. Findings include: 
    
    • Statewide accuracy rate was 100%
    • No discrepancies were reported from participating hospitals (n=8)
  • Review the CLABSI Statewide Summary Report for more information
• Dialysis Events Validation: External validation of dialysis events (DEs) reported by in-center hemodialysis facilities started October 2024, marking the final phase of the validation process. The external validation aims to identify and address barriers to accurate reporting of HAI data.

🆕Animals in Healthcare Facilities

• Resource: New policy template and quick guide for nursing home infection preventionists are now available.
• Details: Includes considerations for animals in healthcare facilities and recommending infection prevention measures to ensure the safety of patients, staff, and animals.

🆕Antimicrobial Stewardship Training & Education Resources

• Resource: Does your facility need educational materials on antibiotic stewardship? NC SPICE (Statewide Program for Infection Control & Epidemiology) has a variety of free resources for different healthcare settings including:
  • Short mini-lectures and fact sheets
  • Slide decks
  • Expert lectures

🆕Candida auris in Dialysis Settings

• Resource: Do you practice in a dialysis facility and want more information about Candida auris infection prevention and control measures? If so, check out the new VDH flyer on C. auris in hemodialysis facilities!

✴️ Cuppa Tea with an IP. A weekly live chat with VDH infection preventionists (IPs) and experts to address your infection prevention and control questions. Register once to attend any session as needed.

✴️ Vitamin IPC. Subscribe to the monthly Vitamin IPC bulletin by VIPTA for essential resources and access to events to enhance frontline healthcare personnel’s infection prevention and control training. 

✴️ Clinician Letter. This letter is emailed to all currently licensed healthcare professionals in the Commonwealth to communicate important updates. Access archived letters at Clinician Letters - Clinicians (virginia.gov) 

✴️ Healthcare Professional Newsletter. Subscribe to HCP monthly newsletter for updates on therapeutics, COVID-19, and upcoming activities. Access it and archives at Healthcare Professional Newsletter - Clinicians (virginia.gov).