The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) recently announced the end of the 2026 measles outbreak in Buckingham and Cumberland Counties, which resulted in 154 measles cases. The last confirmed outbreak-associated case was reported on June 29.  

Despite the outbreak ending, VDH encourages all clinicians across the Commonwealth to: 

• Follow immunization recommendations as outlined in the recent VDH clinician letter (8/19/2026).  

• Maintain a high index of suspicion for measles in patients presenting with fever and rash, especially in those who are unvaccinated.  

• Immediately report suspected or confirmed measles cases to your local health department. Please do not wait for laboratory confirmation.  

• Check the immune status of the healthcare providers on your teams and take readiness steps for your facility.  

• Visit VDH’s Measles Information for Healthcare Providers website for the latest information about measles in Virginia.  

Snapshot of the Numbers 

CDC continues to respond to an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus in remote areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.  

To date, no cases of Ebola disease have been confirmed in the United States. The overall risk to the American public and travelers remains low.  

New resources have recently been shared to help healthcare facilities prepare for and respond to patients who may have Ebola disease: 

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  
  • Identify, Isolate, Inform – a step-by-step guide for ambulatory care evaluation of patients who may have Ebola disease  
  • Healthcare Facility Door Sign – directs patients to immediately report any recent travel in an affected county and any Ebola signs and symptoms  
  • Think Ebola factsheet – recognize the risk factors for Ebola disease and know how to respond if you see signs or symptoms  
  • Think Ebola Micro-Learn – Project Firstline's training resource to educate reception and intake staff 

• Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology 
  • The APIC Ebola Playbook has been updated; this is a concise workflow document designed to help infection preventionists rapidly activate Ebola prevention efforts 

Registration is now open for the 2026 APIC-Virginia 51st Annual Educational Conference. The conference will take place October 15-16 at The Virginian Hotel in Lynchburg. This year’s theme is Moving Mountains: Influencing the Future of Infection Prevention. It will bring together healthcare and public health professionals.  Attendees will learn, share experiences, and strengthen infection prevention partnerships across the state.  

Session topics include using artificial intelligence in infection prevention, outbreak investigation lessons, innovative device stewardship approaches, and more. Visit the conference event website to learn more and register by Thursday, October 1. 

In collaboration with the Virginia Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Group (VHAG), the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) hosted the first session of their three-part webinar series for private labs on August 27th at 1:00PM.  

This series is designed for clinical microbiology laboratory testing personnel and aims to support education and enhance understanding of MDROs. It is one of several strategies developed through the VHAG annual priority workgroup to strengthen communication and awareness around MDROs. 

1. August 27th 1:00PM – Recording available on the DCLS website.
2. September 30th 1:00PM: Register for Best Practices for Interpretation & Reporting
3. November 16th 1:00PM: Register for Importance of Surveillance & the Role of Public Health 

All sessions will be recorded and posted on the DCLS Hot Topics & Updates webpage. Please reach out to Emily Craig (emily.craig@dgs.virginia.gov) with any questions. 

Ready for Measles: Measles Preparedness and Response Strategies for Virginia Healthcare Facilities (7/15/2026)  

• Webinar slides and recording are posted on the VDH measles website for healthcare providers.   

Updated setting-specific infection prevention and control recommendations for Candida auris and carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs)/carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) have been posted to the VDH website. 

• C. auris Infection Prevention: Recommendations for Acute Care and Long-Term Acute Care Facilities 

• C. auris Infection Prevention: Recommendations for Long-Term Care Facilities 

• CRO/CPO Infection Prevention: Recommendations for Acute Care and Long-Term Acute Care Facilities 

• CRO/CPO Infection Prevention: Recommendations for Long-Term Care Facilities 

CDC updated the Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship, reflecting new evidence on effective stewardship strategies and changes in outpatient healthcare delivery since the original guidance was published in 2016. The updated guidance emphasizes the role of health systems and clinical leadership in supporting coordinated, sustainable antibiotic stewardship across outpatient settings. Highlights include:  

• A stewardship assessment tool to help organizations evaluate and strengthen antibiotic stewardship programs.  

• Measurement strategies to monitor antibiotic prescribing and track improvement over time.  

• Tailored implementation guidance for different outpatient settings, including telemedicine, dentistry, and dialysis. 

CDC recently added two new animated videos to the Antimicrobial Resistance Communications Toolkit giving viewers a deeper, more comprehensive look into what antimicrobial resistance (AR) is, how it spreads, and what CDC is doing to combat it.   

• Antimicrobial Resistance and Public Health: What You Need to Know provides an overview of AR and its impact across healthcare, the community, and the environment.   

• How CDC Protect Americans by Combating Antimicrobial Resistance provides a closer look on how CDC works with partners to prevent, detect, and respond to AR threats.  

A CDC webinar, developed in partnership with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), is now available on CDC TRAIN and offers continuing education credit. It features clinical experts and public health leaders sharing practical strategies to build resilience among dialysis care teams and discusses how resilient performance improves patient safety, care quality, and prevents infections:  

• Thriving Under Pressure: Building Resilient Dialysis Systems and Teams  

International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW), October 19–25, is a time to celebrate the people and partnerships that make infection prevention possible. Every day, their work helps protect patients, residents, healthcare workers, and communities from healthcare-associated infections. 

This year’s theme, “Generations of Infection Prevention | Past. Present. Protected.”, recognizes how lessons learned and knowledge shared continue to move infection prevention forward. 

Across Virginia, there are many ways to learn, connect, and celebrate during IIPW: 

• Find practical tools and materials in the VDH HAI/AR Resource Hub 

• Explore training and education through the Virginia Infection Prevention and Control Training Alliance (VIPTA) 

• Get ideas and resources for celebrating IIPW in the VIPTA Featured Training & Resource 

• Connect with infection prevention colleagues and experts through Cuppa Tea with an IP 

• Learn about individualized infection prevention support through onsite infection prevention and control assessments. 

However, you celebrate, IIPW is a chance to recognize the work happening every day to prevent infections and protect the people we serve. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued their Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Final Rule for the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System on July 31, 2026. Facilities that participate in the SNF Quality Reporting Program are encouraged to review this document for all applicable updates.  

One notable update involves a change in COVID-19 vaccination data reporting requirements. Beginning with the FY 2028 SNF QRP (effective 10/1/2026), two measures have been removed and no longer need to be reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network: 

• COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel measure 

• COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients/Residents Who Are Up to Date measure 

All submitted Outpatient Dialysis Center Practices Surveys will be frozen at 11:59pm on September 30, 2026.  

Users are asked to complete and submit the Outpatient Dialysis Center Practices Survey, if it has not already been submitted. Please review the submitted survey to ensure all information is accurate before the September 30 freeze date.   

✴️ 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. 

✴️ Healthcare Professional Newsletter.  A subscriber-based monthly newsletter for Virginia healthcare professionals with updates on outbreaks, emerging diseases, reporting requirements, resources, and trainings. Subscribe and access archived newsletters at Healthcare Professional Newsletter - Clinicians (virginia.gov)