ID Week 2017: Parting Shot- Pay Us More Than Minimum Wage!

In a moment I will en route to Virginia.

Here is a parting shot from ID Week 2017, from the IDeas Wall. Note the comment at the bottom. In the USA, where procedures are lucrative, cognitive specialties suffer and have the lowest reimbursement.

"Pay us more than minimum wage." 

Infectious diseases is a very exciting, low paying job.

ID Week 2017: Congratulations to Drs. Nicole Vissichelli and Oveimar De La Cruz

Dr. Nicole Vissichelli at ID Week 2017

ID Week 2017 is coming to an end. really great week with high quality presentations and posters.

Congratulations to Drs. Nicole Vissichelli and Oveimar De La Cruz on their bone marrow transplant and infectious diseases related abstract.

Dr. Visichelli will present her work next month at VCU's Gordon Archer Annual Research Day. 

Stay tuned.

ID Week 2017: With the Agent Provacateur- Mike Edmond

'Jane, you ignorant Slut!' From Saturday Night Live Skit to ID Week pro/con debate theme.

Learning with Levity.

With friend and former VCU colleague Mike Edmond, the Agent Provocateur of hospital infection prevention, prior to his arguing against universal influenza vaccination of HCWs.

Lively and spirited.

ID Week 2017: Guide to Infection Control In the Hospital with the International Society of Infectious Diseases

Drs. Doll, Stevens and I caught up with Chris Trimmer and Laurence Mialot of the International Society of Infectious Diseases, where we continued to plot the next steps for the 6th edition of The Guide for Infection Control in the Hospital.

The new edition will be launched at the International Congress on Infectious Diseases, Buenos Aires, 2018. Expect new content and new web-based format, with e-pub and portable app, all in the making.

Exciting.

New Perspectives and Controversies in Infection Prevention. Published!

L-R: Drs. Morgan, Murthy, Munoz-Price and the blogger.

Thank you to my co-editors Drs. Dan Morgan (University of Maryland), Silvia Munoz-Price (Medical College of Wisconsin) and Rekha Murthy (Cedars-Sinai/ UCLA) for their invaluable collaboration on this newly published book, New Perspectives and Controversies in Infection Prevention (Springer).  More importantly, thank you to the many contributors for their high quality submissions.

As the name suggests, we did not shy away from controversy, which is how we like it!

We caught up at ID Week 2017 (San Diego) for a group photo.

Portable Bedside Equipment: An Infection Prevention Nuisance

I generally enjoy reading small articles that probe commonplace infection preventions issues. 

This recent article underscores the potential and likely under-recognized threat of portable equipment (bedside ultrasounds, EKGs etc) in the transmission of pathogens in the hospital. After inoculating portable equipment with a DNA marker, a substantial proportion (about 20%) of areas sampled, including common areas, patient rooms and portable equipment, were positive for the DNA marker, suggesting that both transmission across inanimate surfaces is possible (likely via HCW hands) and that disinfection is unreliable.

The solution is not simple. Hand hygiene is variable, most commonly at foam in and foam out of patient rooms, thus missing other opportunities for hand decontamination. More importantly, disinfection of portable devices is not standardized. Assigning this task to busy nurses simply will not work in the real world.

We need better processes for disinfection of environmental bioburden. Dedicated environmental teams or technologies are needed to regularly and consistently clean portable equipment.

I am en route to San Diego for ID Week 2017. 

Stay tuned.

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu! A Real Life Revenge of the Nerds.

The librarians of Timbuktu are bad-ass! No joke.

My penchant for seeking books (old and new alike) and hanging out in libraries was previously highlighted here . Naturally, a book chronicling the heroic rescue of ancient manuscripts (on medicine, religion, astronomy etc) in Timbuktu from imminent destruction by Al-Qaeda peeked my interest.

The  Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, a bookish and intellectual lot, organized a covert heist of over 350,000 manuscripts and smuggled them to safety in southern Mali. A real world thriller with a 'revenge of the nerds' flavor.

I will be spending much of the upcoming week at ID Week 2017. 

Expect pictorial updates on the blog.