CDC Ranks Two More Drug-Resistant Microbes as ‘Urgent Threat’ to Americans; Clinical Laboratories Are Advised to Increase Awareness of Antimicrobial Resistance

In a separate study, HHS finds a 40% increase in sepsis cases, as more patients succumb to infections without effective antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs Given the drastic steps being taken to slow the spread of the Coronavirus in America, it’s easy to forget that significant numbers of patients die each year due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), other forms of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and in thousands of cases the sepsis that follows the infections. This is why the Centers for...

Wellcome Sanger Institute Study Discovers New Strain of C. Difficile That Targets Sugar in Hospital Foods and Resists Standard Disinfectants

Researchers believe new findings about genetic changes in C. difficile are a sign that it is becoming more difficult to eradicate Hospital infection control teams, microbiologists, and clinical laboratory professionals soon may be battling a strain of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) that is even more resistant to disinfectants and other forms of infection control. That’s the opinion of research scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical...

Leapfrog Group Report Shows Hospitals Failing to Eliminate Hospital-Acquired Infections; Medical Laboratories Can Help Providers’ Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs

Contrary to CMS and Joint Commission programs implemented in 2017 to reduce them, incidents of hospital-acquired infections have risen for the past few years Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathologists know that hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) can be deadly, not just for patients, but for their caregivers and families as well. Even one HAI is too many. Thus, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required healthcare organizations to upgrade their antimicrobial...
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