HAI Happenings: Quarter Two 2026 Newsletter

This message is being sent to local public health department officers, nurses, and staff; Tribal health directors; infection preventionists; and key DPH staff.

HAI Happenings highlights new and noteworthy topics for all things related to healthcare-associated infections (HAI), including infection prevention and control (IPC), antimicrobial stewardship (AS), antibiotic resistance (AR), surveillance, and more. You can also find links to helpful guidance and resources and learn more about current Wisconsin HAI Prevention Program activities.

Knowledge check Test your HAI knowledge. See answer at the end of the newsletter.  If a patient has been exposed to measles but currently has no symptoms (no fever and rash), should they still be tested?

What's new with the HAI Prevention Program?

The HAI Prevention Program has updated the Trends in Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing in Wisconsin report (PDF). The report includes data through 2024 to better understand the current state of outpatient antibiotic use in Wisconsin. Do you have animals in your health care facility? Check out the newly published Animals in Health Care Guidance and Recommendations for Health Care Facilities (PDF). This resource shares recommendations for animal interactions in health care facilities. It also provides a template policy that can be used by facilities to create their own policies on animal interactions. The HAI Prevention Program published an Environmental Services (EVS) Audit Workbook (Excel). The workbook can be used to record and analyze data from completed EVS audits.

In the news

• The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has been following measles cases in a number of Wisconsin counties. See details on the DHS Outbreaks, Recalls, and Investigations webpage.
  • Visit the DHS Measles webpage for more information, recommendations, and to stay up to date on the latest case counts.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a compounding risk alert reminding compounders not to use dietary supplement grade glutathione for injectables.
  • Find more about the recall.
• New CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) survey shows continued success in preventing HAIs. The survey found that HAIs continue to decline in U.S. hospitals, demonstrating the impact of ongoing IPC efforts.

Best practice and guidance updates

• As of August 24, the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) has discontinued testing carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) isolates for OXA-23-like, OXA-24/40-like, and OXA-58-like carbapenemase genes. Check out the GovD message for more information about response and reporting updates.
• CDC updated its Infection Control in Health Care Personnel guidance to include viral respiratory infections. This new section provides recommendations about the management and monitoring of health care personnel who have been exposed to or are ill with a viral respiratory illness, including SARS-CoV2 and influenza (including recommendations on return to work). 
• The Core Elements for Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship has recently been updated. The updated guidance includes a practical assessment tool; new stewardship strategies for telemedicine, dental clinics, and dialysis facilities; and recommendations to support quality improvement and responsible antibiotic use
• The Wisconsin Immunization Program updated various measles resources.
  • Measles Guidelines document (PDF)
  • When to Suspect and Test for Measles (PDF)
  • Measles Testing and Public Health Notification: Guidance for Wisconsin Clinicians (PDF)
• August was Immunization Awareness Month! Read up on key reminders for safe infection practices on the DHS Precautions webpage.
• CDC has released a new toolkit for U.S. healthcare settings featuring a variety of resources to support Ebola education and information sharing.
• Check out the new Preventing Infections in Your Nursing Home Community video from CDC. The video highlights everyday actions nursing home residents and staff can take to prevent infections.
• Don't miss the upcoming Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) awareness trainings. These trainings are free to attend and share information on how to protect patients and staff during construction in occupied health care facilities. 

Project Firstline spotlight

New Project Firstline Micro-Learn! Check out our new micro-learn for reception and intake staff, Think Ebola on Arrival!, which highlights how everyday infection prevention practices help health care workers recognize potential risks and respond safely and confidently.

Notes from the field

Each quarter we’ll highlight a specialty topic area or setting that the HAI Prevention Program works with and take a deep dive into guidance, recommendations, or notes from the field from our IPs. This quarter, we’re focusing on oral health.

September is Dental Infection Control Awareness month! An important part of infection control in dental clinics is monitoring adherence to expected practices. Some examples of monitoring include environmental rounding and hand hygiene observations. To make monitoring easier, the HAI Prevention Program has created tools that can be used and modified to fit the needs of dental clinics.

The Multidisciplinary Infection Prevention and Control Rounding Tool for Oral Health Care Settings (Word) is designed to help assess the clinic environment for infection control gaps and prioritize corrective measures and follow-up. The tool can be easily modified to more closely align with clinic-specific policies as necessary.

The Hand Hygiene Observations Template for Oral Health Settings (Excel) tool is designed to make monitoring hand hygiene compliance easier. It includes a template for observing hand hygiene practices as well as tables for logging the data. The tables automatically convert hand hygiene data into easy-to-read graphs that visualize hand hygiene compliance data over time, by staff type, or by moments for hand hygiene opportunity. If a dental clinic has multiple locations, the tool also allows users to compare hand hygiene compliance from one location to the next.

HAI Prevention Program highlights

HAI Prevention Program highlights

Did you know the HAI Prevention Program hosts virtual IPC workshops for local and Tribal health departments (LTHDs)? The workshops are designed to provide LTHD staff with foundational knowledge on HAI and IPC topics. Workshops provide attendees with opportunities to practice and apply the skills they learn with other LTHD staff from across Wisconsin.

Check out the upcoming workshop!

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Time: 10:30–11:30 a.m.

Topic: Infection Control Breach Case Study

Presenter: Jennifer Kuhn, BSN, RN, CIC

This interactive workshop will walk participants through an infection control breach case study. Participants will review what an infection control breach is, steps to a breach investigation, and impacts and challenges of an infection control breach. Participants will be guided through an infection control breach case study where they will need to apply the concepts learned.  

Learning objectives:

• Understand what an infection control breach is.
• Identify the steps to an infection control breach investigation.
• Describe the impacts and challenges of an infection control breach.
• Complete the actions necessary to conduct an infection control breach investigation.

Register for the workshop!

Knowledge check answer

Testing during the prodromal phase, prior to rash onset is not recommended due to the possibility of a false negative result.

Learn more about when to suspect and test for measles by viewing the DHS When to Suspect and Test for Measles (PDF) fact sheet.

Please do not reply directly to this email message. If you have a question, please contact the HAI Prevention Program at DHSWIHAIPreventionProgram@dhs.wisconsin.gov. Visit the DPH HAI Prevention Program website for more information.