✅ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• First Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak in the Republic of Rwanda (10/3)
• Information for clinicians and health departments about the Republic of Rwanda’s confirmed outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD). The Health Advisory summarizes recommendations for public health departments and clinicians in the U.S. on case identification and testing and clinical laboratory biosafety considerations.
•  Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations (10/26)
• The recommended age for receiving the pneumococcal vaccination was lowered from 65 to 50 years to give more adults the opportunity to protect themselves from pneumococcal disease at the age when risk of infection substantially increases.

✅ Virginia Department of Health Clinician Letters

• Highly pathogenic avian influenza and pharmacist influenza testing (10/8)
• Information on VDH’s continued monitoring of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (H5N1) in poultry and dairy cattle that has resulted in a small number of human infections in parts of the U.S.

• Marburg virus disease update (10/8)
• Update on the situation summary and CDC recommendations regarding the Marburg Outbreak in the Republic of Rwanda.

• Disruption in production of IV fluid due to impacts from Hurricane Helene: Update #1 (10/8/24); Update #2 (10/21/24); Update #3 (10/29/24)
• Addresses the disruption in production of IV solutions as a result of Hurricane Helene on the Baxter International Inc. North Cove manufacturing facility in Marion, North Carolina. Includes updates, recommendations to mitigate the impact, and VDH’s response to the situation.

✅ Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Clean Versus Sterile: Management Of Chronic Wounds (10/2024)

• A collaborative guidance update with the Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses Society (WOCN) addressing the use of clean versus sterile dressing technique for chronic wound care management.

Across Virginia and in all healthcare settings, ASPs are working hard to make sure patients and residents are receiving the best treatment for infections. According to CDC data, 98% of Virginia hospitals and 89% of Virginia nursing homes are meeting the CDC’s recommended Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship. A special shout out goes to two organizations who are working on projects aimed at resource-limited settings.

Carilion Clinic Outpatient ASP Team: The team at Carilion includes Mandy Swann, Dr. Anthony Baffoe-Bonnie, Dr. Elizabeth Nowak, Dr. Lauren McDaniel, Dr. Nick Stornelli, and Vera Hollen. Their work to date includes establishing an ASP outpatient subcommittee, creating a prescribing dashboard, dissemination of symptom relief prescription packs, and starting a One Health collaborative. They also have recorded 13 educational series in various formats including bite-sized videos and podcasts. The educational series is available on the Carilion Clinic website.

Fairfax County Health Department Nursing Home Initiative: The Fairfax County Health Department created the Strengthening Antimicrobial Stewardship for Skilled Nursing Facilities Program (SASS). The team includes Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, Barbara Downes, Samantha Christensen, Kristen Locklin, Taylor Crosby, Shawn Kiernan, Dr. Aabha Jain, Dr. David Allen, and the public health nurses at the Fairfax County Health Department among other support staff. The team has conducted baseline assessments at all nursing homes in their jurisdiction and provided feedback reports. They created resident education pamphlets and conducted onsite training with a companion tool to help the medical team evaluate the need for antibiotic therapy. They also developed an antibiotic prescribing tracking tool for facilities that provides automatic data visualizations. All nursing homes in Fairfax County are participating in the program at various levels of engagement. More information about the program can be found on the Fairfax County website.

This is just a snippet of the great work being done in Virginia. Congratulations to all ASPs for implementing activities to improve patient and resident safety, decrease antimicrobial resistance, and ensure the most optimal drugs are prescribed every day.