New hire at VGH: C. difficile-hunting dog
On July 5, after a year of intensive training culminating in exams he passed, English springer spaniel Angus will be introduced at Vancouver General Hospital as Canada’s first, and the world’s only current C. difficile hunter. He succeeds the world’s first C. diff sniffer, a beagle in the Netherlands named Cliff, who has retired. Angus uses his scent-tracking abilities to find toxins in the bacterial organisms that cause C. diff. infections...
Emerging global HAI-AMR issue: Candida auris
PHAC communication PHAC has recently learned of a public health alert from US CDC in relation to the global emergence of invasive infections caused by the multidrug-resistant yeast organism, Candida auris. While C. auris is not common, it can cause invasive infections associated with high mortality and has also been known to cause outbreaks in healthcare facilities. Information available to date indicates that cases of C. auris have occurred in at least nine...
Opinion articles: preparedness for the next ‘pandemic’
Please note: Articles shared on the PICNet website do not necessarily represent the views of PICNet; we are posting these for your interest, and to present viewpoints that may bear consideration in provincial discussions. Two recent opinion articles of interest regarding pandemic preparedness: Jim Yong Kim: A plan to deal with the next pandemicThe Washington PostJim Yong Kim is president of the World Bank Group Annie Sparrow: Who isn't equipped for a pandemic or...
Cigarette smoke promotes growth of Staph aureus
A study led by Dr. David A. Scott of the University of Louisville School of Dentistry found that cigarette smoke helps bacteria colonize and build resilience. The specific types of bacteria that were found to grow more from smoke were Staphylococcus aureus (which causes skin infections), Streptococcus mutans (which contributes to oral diseases), Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These bacteria may build up to cause other diseases like vaginosis and pneumonia. “While...
Updated GI Outbreak Guidelines
PICNet's Gastrointestinal Infection Outbreak Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities have been updated. The changes and additions are summarized below: Evidence has been weighted according to new Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Rating Scale for Strength and Quality of Evidence (inserted as Appendix). A summary of recommendations with evidence weighting was added. Small wording revisions throughout the document to provide better clarity BCCDC laboratory links and processes were updated. A section on evolving technology to enhance...
What’s wrong with this picture? – Answers and winners!
Thanks to everyone who participated in our Glove Use Challenge. The answers to “What’s wrong with this picture?”, for the four photos below, are as follows: Gloves should not be worn for anything except: Direct patient care when it is anticipated that the hands will be in contact with mucous membranes, non-intact skin, or bodily fluids if the patient is on contact precautions Transporting contaminated items (or potentially contaminated) Cleaning spills of blood or bodily fluids. ...
Studies show that antibiotics and C-sections affect babies’ microbiomes
From GenomeWeb.com: In an attempt to look at how an infant's microbiome develops and changes, two groups of researchers sequenced the microbiomes of more than 80 infants at various time points over their first two years of life, identifying changes between the bacterial makeup that occurred as a result of delivery, antibiotic exposures, and other environmental factors. The studies, published today in Science Translational Medicine, are a first step toward understanding the...