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Candida auris Q&A
PICNet has prepared the following Q&A to assist you with questions from staff or patients. You can also download this information as a PDF. View our subsequent news post for infection control and laboratory testing information. What is Candida auris? Is it a new type of infection? Candida auris is a type of Candida yeast. Candida yeasts normally live on the skin and mucous membranes but can cause yeast infections....
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Yellow fever outbreak in Brazil
Several news stories and epidemiological updates on the yellow fever outbreak in Brazil: Brazil orders 11.5 million yellow fever vaccines amid worst outbreak in years From Straitstimes.com: Rio de Janeiro said on Saturday (March 11) it plans to vaccinate the state’s entire population against yellow fever in response to an outbreak that has killed at least 113 people around Brazil. Although Rio has not registered any cases, it...
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Canadian scientists find new way to attack antibiotic-resistant lung infections
[…] beating together to move mucus up and out of the lung. The airways in people with CF also provide an ideal environment for some bacterial infections to take hold. Whether the engineered enzymes work the same in humans as in mice, without toxic effects, remains to be seen. Sheppard estimates the first studies in people are at least five years away. Read the full article, and watch the...
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Antibiotic Awareness Week: Resources
[…] Wisely Canada Antibiotic (antimicrobial) resistance: fact sheets / Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Antibiotic resistance fact sheet / World Health Organization (WHO) I Use Antibiotics Responsibly Pledge / WHO ‘Antibiotics: Handle with care’ campaign video / WHO Recommendations for appropriate prescribing of antimicrobials / Bugs and Drugs Clinical practice guidelines / Do Bugs Need Drugs Antibiotic Quiz / AntibioticWise.ca Take the Pledge to Use Antibiotics...
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Eight cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in Washington state
From Global News: Eight of nine children hospitalized in Washington state for a polio-like illness have a rare syndrome that causes varying degrees of limb weakness, state health officials confirmed on Friday. The eight cases from five counties in the state were determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be acute flaccid myelitis, also known as AFM, which affects the nervous system and specifically the...
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Updated GI Outbreak Guidelines: Invitation to Review
In November 2015, we invited you to provide feedback on the current GI Outbreak Management Guidelines, as they were due for review. Based on your feedback and on information from recent literature, PICNet’s Guidelines Steering Committee has completed the draft of the updated guidelines. We invite you to review the draft document and provide feedback again. Please review the document and enter your comments in the feedback form, then email the...
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PICNet Website Changes
[…] if you still have trouble finding anything, you are welcome to email or phone us. Please note: if you are on a very old version of Internet Explorer, you may prefer to access the site via Google Chrome. If you encounter errors: During the launch of a new website and the propagation process, you may notice some errors or broken features on the site; this is likely...
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Antibiotics animated video from Health Education England
A clever video on antimicrobial resistance from Health Education England: Thanks to Reflections on Infection Prevention and Control for sharing this....
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OXA-48 strain of CPO in the news
Several stories have been circulating in the U.S. press around a strain of CPO that the media has dubbed “The Phantom Menace”. The stories refer to this report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on December 4, 2015. The main summary points of the report are: The plasmid containing OXA-48-like genes has high transfer efficiency, and the OXA-48 gene is more difficult to identify. CDC...
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BC’s Animal Health Centre: detecting avian influenza
[…] doesn’t matter if the animal is wild or domestic, a family pet or destined for the dinner table, pathologists see a diverse cross-section of the province’s fauna. On the day of a visit by a News reporter, one of the centre’s nine pathologists is examining a dead skunk, its smell permeating the entire facility. The centre’s diagnostic lab is actually a cluster of more than half...
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Infection Control Week 2016
[…] own HA’s intranet) Thanks to all of you — in every area of health care — for all that you do to help prevent infections! Interior Health has an article in @IH Magazine, and an InTheLoop news story with profiles of the IPAC staff. Northern Health has an online poster featuring the whole IPAC team; click on the staff photos to read their individual profiles! PHSA has a...
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Ebola vaccine trial results
[…] one of the two most common strains of the Ebola virus, and it may not give long-lasting protection. Some of those who get it report side effects like joint pain and headaches. “It’s certainly good news with regard to any new outbreak — and one will occur somewhere,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which makes many...
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BCCDC Emerging Respiratory Virus (ERV) Bulletin
[…] and consult a microbiologist at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory for testing advice, clearly indicating any relevant travel/exposure history with specimen submission. Follow strict infection prevention and control guidelines when collecting respiratory specimens. For more information: WHO Influenza at the Human-Animal Interface Monthly Risk Assessments WHO Disease Outbreak News (DONs) ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Reports (CDTRs) ECDC Avian influenza A(H7N9) highly pathogenic for poultry (24 February...
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Antibiotic-resistant genes are being spread via animal feed
[…] vehicle to promote antibiotic-resistant gene dissemination internationally”. This could help explain why resistant bacteria have been showing up in unexpected places around the world such as isolated caves and ancient permafrost. “Our study implies that long-term and repeated feeding with fishmeal may accelerate the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and even pathogens …,” the researchers wrote in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. — Read the full article...
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PICNet Newsletter Jan2013
[…] data on GI outbreaks in hospitals and the community, as well as information on norvirus prevention measures provided by PI CNet, which reflect the provincial GI Guidelines. PICNet Manager Bruce Gamage was interviewed by CBC News Early Edition on the topic of Norovirus this morning (January 7); you can listen to the podcast . (The in terview runs from 12:40 to 19:00) Read: BCCDC Laboratory Trends...
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PICNet Newsletter Aug2014
[…] Week activities and announcements, PICNet has created an IC Week Toolkit . The toolkit includes a time/resource planning template, a detailed list of 18+ activities you can choose from, and communications tools such as sample news articles, Facebook/blog posts, and tweets. You can download the document directly from this link or via PICNet's IC Week web page . Let's Go Viral! - new edition Based on...
Type: Media
PICNet Newsletter Aug2014
[…] Week activities and announcements, PICNet has created an IC Week Toolkit . The toolkit includes a time/resource planning template, a detailed list of 18+ activities you can choose from, and communications tools such as sample news articles, Facebook/blog posts, and tweets. You can download the document directly from this link or via PICNet's IC Week web page . Let's Go Viral! - new edition Based on...
Type: Media