💡Increase in Pneumonia and Pertussis Infections 

• New: A recent VDH clinician letter provides updates on increases in pneumonia among children and pertussis in group settings in Virginia. 
• VDH Recommendations: 
  • Pneumonia: 
    • Consider enterovirus, rhinovirus, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae as possible causes of infection in children with community-acquired pneumonia. 
    • Be aware of treatment recommendations for M. pneumoniae infections. 
  • Pertussis: 
    • Ensure all patients are up to date on DTap or Tdap vaccinations. 
    • Have a high suspicion of pertussis in patients with respiratory illness, especially a prolonged cough. 

    • Ensure proper antibiotic treatment for patients with pertussis. Contacts at high risk must receive post-exposure prophylaxis on time.

• Additional Information: Review VDH’s clinician letter (11/19/2024) for more recommendations and resources.  

💡Disruption in Production of Intravenous Fluid Due to Impacts of Hurricane Helene   

• New: Baxter, a major U.S. manufacturer of intravenous (IV) solutions, has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to extend the use dates of 50+ IV and irrigation codes. Products now have a 24-month expiry period from the date of manufacture. This helps with the shortage of IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions, caused by hurricane damage to the factories.
• VDH Recommendation: All healthcare providers are requested to use conservation measures. It will help reduce the impact of this manufacturing disruption.
• Additional Information:  
  • Baxter Hurricane Helene Updates.  
  • Review VDH’s clinician letters (10/8/2024, 10/21/2024, and 10/29/2024) for more recommendations and resources.  

💡VDH Immunization Attitudes and Beliefs Survey 

• What: Healthcare providers are encouraged to share their thoughts about immunization via the VDH Division of Immunization's second annual Immunization Attitudes and Beliefs Survey. 
  • The survey is open to healthcare providers who are licensed and operate in Virginia (e.g., DO, EMT, MD, NP, PA, PharmD, RN). 
  • Data will be used to improve effective immunization strategies and address public health challenges. 
  • Complete the anonymous survey online before January 17, 2025. The survey should take approximately 20 minutes and is voluntary.  
• Questions? Contact the Division of Immunization by choosing the “Vaccine Survey” subject.

• New: The 2023 annual National and State HAIs Progress Report provides a summary of select HAIs across acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and long-term acute care hospitals. 
  • Nationally, among acute care hospitals, 5 HAIs (central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated events, hospital-onset MRSA bacteremia laboratory-identified events, and hospital-onset C. difficile laboratory-identified events) continued to decline in 2023 compared to 2022. 
  • In Virginia acute care hospitals, 3 HAIs (catheter-associated urinary tract infections, hospital-onset MRSA bacteremia laboratory-identified events, and hospital-onset C. difficile laboratory-identified events) had a statistically significant decrease in 2023 compared to 2022. 

• Additional Information: Review CDC’s HAI Progress Report website for an executive summary, data highlights, and data tables. 

💡Antimicrobial Stewardship Core Elements and Priority Elements Dashboard Updated on HAI/AR Website  

• New: VDH’s Acute Care Hospital (ACH) Antimicrobial Stewardship (AS) Annual Survey summary dashboard has been updated to include 2023 data.  
  • The dashboard summarizes responses from NHSN to assess a hospital’s adoption of the CDC AS Core and Priority Elements. 
  • In 2023, 99% of NHSN-enrolled ACHs reported implementing all seven Core Elements of AS. The results exceeded the 2022 results, which indicated that 97% of hospitals met all seven Core Elements.  
  • In 2023, 17% of hospitals were able to meet all six Priority Elements, reflecting a slight decrease from 21% the prior year.  
  • Reporting was identified as the area with the lowest implementation in 2023.  
  • Dashboard data can be filtered or displayed by year, region, teaching status, bed size and ownership.  

💡Long-Term Care Facility Reporting Requirement Changes 

• New: Beginning January 1, 2025, the following changes are in effect for long-term care facilities (LTCFs) reporting to the NHSN: 
  • Respiratory Pathogens Reporting Requirements Changes for Residents: Facilities are required to report COVID-19, influenza, and RSV data weekly for residents, including vaccination status, cases (overall and by vaccination status), and hospitalizations with confirmed cases (overall and by vaccination status). 
  • COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting Requirement Changes for Healthcare Personnel (HCP): Facilities are no longer required to report COVID-19 vaccination data for HCP every week. LTCFs are still required to report HCP COVID-19 vaccination data for one week per month, due on a quarterly basis, as part of a CMS Quality Reporting Program. The week-end date determines which month a week is included in.  
  • Up-to-Date Definition Changes for COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting: Beginning the first week of reporting for Quarter 1 2025 (12/30/2024 - 1/5/2025), individuals aged 65 years and older and those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised are up to date when they have received 2 doses of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine or received 1 dose of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine in the past 6 months.  
    • There is no change to the up-to-date definition for individuals younger than 65 years. These individuals are up to date when they have received 1 dose of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine (any time since it was approved in August 2024). 

• Additional Information: Refer to LTC Respiratory Pathogens NHSN website for more information.  

💡Protocol and Training Team: Ask the Experts Webinar Series 2025 

• New training events:   
  • January 15, 2PM: 2025 Protocol Review (Register) 
  • February 19, 2PM: Health Educator (HE) Annual Training Prep (Register)  
  • March 17-21: NHSN 2025 Annual Training (Registration information will be delivered to NHSN users in February) 

• Audience: NHSN users from acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, military/VA hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities, and ambulatory surgery centers reporting surgical site infection events. 

💡CMS Quarterly Data Reporting Deadline 

• Data Submission: Deadline to enter 2024Q3 data into NHSN for the CMS Quality Reporting Programs for participating acute care hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and cancer hospitals is February 15, 2025.  
• 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 February; please check your email and acknowledge receipt and review.  

• Additional Information: 
  • Please update VDH HAI/AR program 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. 

• Resource: VDH hosted a webinar on November 12th to educate healthcare facilities about Marburg virus disease. This included a review of recommended patient screening and infection prevention and control measures. Slides and a recording are available on the VDH website. 

🆕New & Updated Resources from the VDH HAI/AR Program 

• CPO and C. auris Education Booklets for Healthcare Facilities provide important tips to help facility leaders and staff prevent and control the spread of these organisms.  
• Updated Enhanced Barrier Precautions Algorithm assists nursing home staff in determining when and how to implement Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP). 
• New RSV Quick Guide for Nursing Homes infection preventionists is now available which includes strategies for preventing the spread of RSV in nursing homes.  
• New video series on Wound Care Infection Prevention and Control outlines the recommended essential practices to prevent infections during wound care procedures. 
  • Part 1: Wound Care Infection Risks and Your Infection Prevention Program (Video; PDF; Transcript) 
  • Part 2: Standard Precautions for Wound Care (Video; PDF; Transcript) 
  • Part 3: Use of Transmission-Based and Enhanced Barrier Precautions for Wound Care (Video; PDF; Transcript) 

🆕VDH Respiratory Illnesses Toolkit 

• Resource: Need respiratory illness prevention resources for your facility? Check out the VDH Respiratory Illnesses Toolkit for engaging flyers available in multiple languages. Topics include respiratory virus guidance, healthy respiratory habits, what to do if you get the flu, immunizations and treatments, improving indoor air quality, and a symptoms comparison chart.  

🆕Virginia Infection Prevention Training Center  

• Upcoming Webinar: Learn how switching from IV to oral antimicrobials can reduce line-associated infections on Thursday, January 9th, 2025 from noon - 1 p.m. ET 
  • Featuring Dr. Brad Spellberg, Chief Medical Officer at Los Angeles General Medical Center, this webinar will explore the historical use of intravenous (IV) antimicrobials for serious infections, challenge the notion that IV is always better, and highlight the benefits of oral antimicrobials in terms of safety, cost, and patient preference. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding of antimicrobial stewardship and improve patient care. Seats are limited – register now! 

• Additional Resources: VIPTC's most recently published education and training resources include:
  • Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Gastrointestinal Infections (webinar) 
  • Prevention of Respiratory Virus Infections (video) 
  • Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Events (webinar) 
  • Recordings from the VIPTC Conference (11/8/2024) 
  • Single & Multidose Vials with the Three Injectioneers (video) 

🆕APIC Infographics 

• Resource: APIC recently released two infographics for healthcare personnel and one for patients:  
  • C. difficile prevention bundle (for healthcare personnel) 
  • Central line-associated bloodstream infection prevention bundle (for healthcare personnel) 
  • Long-term vascular access (for patients) 

🆕CDC Project Firstline 

• Upcoming Training: Are you interested in improving your infection prevention and control skills? The University of Washington's Training Infection Prevention through Simulation (TIPS) team invites you to participate in their upcoming virtual course! 
• Details: 6-week train-the-trainer free virtual program, designed for infection preventionists, healthcare educators, and anyone passionate about infection prevention and control. You'll learn how to integrate experiential learning into your courses, with a focus on: 
  • Adult learning principles 
  • Course development and facilitation 
  • Assessments and change management 
  • What’s New? Gamified learning for vaccine safety and efficacy, alongside updated content on vaccines. 

• Register: Sign up to join the waitlist today! For more information, check out the attached flyer or email uwtips@uw.edu. Got questions? Contact projectfirstline@cdc.gov for assistance.