The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention marks U.S. Antibiotics Awareness Week with a new Antibiotic Use Option Report that synthesizes National Healthcare Safety Network data.

Health care providers should notify state and local health departments if patients have severe respiratory symptoms after traveling to Wuhan City, China.

The report includes updated statistics and, for the first time, uses electronic health data from hospitals to calculate infection and death rates.

The report shows a 9 percent decrease in central line–associated bloodstream infections, an 8 percent decrease in catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and a 12 percent decrease in hospital-onset Clostridium difficile infections.

The update covers a wider variety of health care settings and includes guidance for the use of performance measures in infection control quality initiatives.

The report includes resources for health care providers and profiles antibiotic stewardship efforts at association members Atrium Health and Denver Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expecting a three- to 10-month nationwide shortage of Aplisol, used in tuberculin skin tests.

Learn why cultural competency matters during emergencies, explore the potential consequences of being culturally incompetent, and gain resources to help build understanding.

In response to reported hepatitis A virus outbreaks in multiple states, the agency urges health care providers to vaccinate at-risk groups, including people who use drugs and people experiencing homelessness.

A new Vital Signs report calls on health care providers to increase prevention efforts for Staphylococcus aureus infections.

The modules are part of a training series based on agency guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain.

The agency awarded five association members for their research to detect, prevent, and treat antibiotic-resistant infections.

Essential hospitals across the country have made commitments to improve antimicrobial stewardship through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Antimicrobial Resistance Challenge.

A Centers for Disease Control & Prevention toolkit provides educational resources and social media messaging for Antibiotics Awareness Week 2018.

These no-cost, downloadable cards include ready-to-use infection prevention assessment forms tailored to 19 common themes, environments, or patient populations.

This new report, published in the Antibiotic Resistance Patient Safety Atlas, is the first to measure year-to-year health care–associated infection prevention progress using the updated 2015 baseline.

This yearlong global initiative challenges governments, private industries, and nongovernmental organizations to commit to reducing antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance.

In a blog post, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official notes that providers should consider health equity during emergency preparedness, response, and recovery to ensure disparities are not inadvertently created or exacerbated.

The toolkit, released as part of National Immunization Awareness Month, includes sample news releases and articles, social media content, and media outreach tools.

This training details approaches to controlling antibiotic resistance in health care settings; participants must sign up for a free Medscape account.

This second segment of a no-cost, online training course focuses on outpatient antibiotic stewardship and communicating with patients; participants can receive up to eight hours of continuing education credit.

The June 19 webinar features a patient perspective on environmental disinfection in dialysis stations, along with strategies for enacting best practices.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended to June 15 the deadline to complete an Agreement to Participate and Consent.

Potential topics include a broad range of health conditions, risk factors, and applications, such as public health partnerships, care coordination approaches, and data integration strategies.

The agency outlines a five-step containment process and provides resources for health departments, labs, and health care providers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will award up to $15.75 million for research to advance understanding about opioid overdose prevention. Applications are due May 15.

The new rules allow surveyors to penalize a hospital for a deficiency if an individual fails to perform hand hygiene in the process of direct patient care.

This year's theme, We Are All Patients, encourages health care providers to stand with patients and stresses the importance of patient engagement in safe care.

A new CDC study finds a 30 percent increase in opioid overdose–related emergency department (ED) visits; the agency will host a webinar on coordinating clinical and public health responses to opioid overdoses treated in EDs.

Health care professionals who complete the four-part web training program are eligible to receive up to eight hours of continuing education credit.

Administrators must review and sign the updated agreement by April 14 to retain access to the National Healthcare Safety Network.

The agency has found marked progress over a decade in eliminating five health care–associated infections (HAIs), and offers an update on the Department of Health and Human Services' five-year goals to reduce HAIs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will observe Antibiotics Awareness Week with a Twitter chat and webinar on Nov. 16.

These awards will support antibiotic resistance research with a focus on the human microbiome, environmental settings, and health care settings.

From Oct. 15 to Oct. 21, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology will raise awareness about antibiotic resistance through a Twitter chat and new infographic.

With 153 clinical C. auris cases reported in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated infection control guidelines.

This video shares strategies to improve injection safety and reduce infection risks in narcotic diversion; participants must sign up for a free Medscape account to view the video.

Two free online simulations help health care providers improve decision-making skills during infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.

The funds will go to 44 states and the District of Columbia to expand prevention and tracking activities under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Overdose Prevention in States effort.

The Get Ahead of Sepsis campaign includes a partner toolkit with educational and social media materials; CDC also will host a related webinar and Twitter chat.

Health professionals are encouraged to join social media campaigns, attend informational calls and webinars, and review a new fact sheet on Candida auris.

The funding will support state and local health departments in testing for drug-resistant fungi and promote the use of whole genome sequencing in testing.

The guidance no longer recommends routine testing of women unless there was ongoing potential exposure; the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $7 million to fight Zika in U.S. territories.

The report outlines programs implemented by hospitals and public health departments across the country to improve antibiotic prescribing practices as part of the agency's Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative.

The funding will be used to track and prevent opioid overdoses; meanwhile, a report finds a drop in the estimated rate of Americans misusing prescription drugs.

Despite reductions in opioid prescribing, the amount of opioids prescribed in 2015 still was triple the amount prescribed in 1999.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show incidence of Clostridium difficile in hospitals and nursing homes fell for the first time in decades.

The video is the third in a series by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about challenges to preventing health care-associated infections.

The error affects the 2015 and 2016 catheter-associated urinary tract infection predictive models; new models will be developed for affected facilities.

This year, 77 U.S. cases of Candida auris have been reported; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is assisting health agencies in affected areas.

Magellan Diagnostics' LeadCare Analyzers could produce inaccurate blood lead test results when used with venous blood samples.

The new guidance updates recommendations issued in 1999; recommendations are categorized based on the quality of available supporting evidence.

CDC has found an increase in Shigella bacteria resistant to flouroquinone antibiotics, which could indicate resistance to other drugs.

A lethal, drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris could pose the country's leading health risk.

The training resource is the first in a series of eight learning modules to be released this year on the CDC opioid prescribing guidelines.

The rankings provide a county-level “snapshot” of health and can help essential hospitals identify the needs of the communities they serve.

CDC recommends hospitals clean rooms of patients with Candida auris daily and post-discharge with a disinfectant that is effective against C. diff.

CDC will host two free workshops with the National Ebola Training & Education Center to train health care workers on delivering patient care during an infectious disease epidemic.

The 90-minute webinar will focus on training hospital epidemiologists in the interpersonal skills necessary to handle an infectious disease outbreak.

The course runs March 20–24 in Atlanta and includes expert content on different infection or event types, as well as antibiotic stewardship.

The Antibiotic Resistance Investment Map includes state-by-state fact sheets outlining key investments based on fiscal year 2016 funding data.

The new resources — including a mobile app, series of short videos, posters and more — are meant to help providers follow guidelines issued in March 2016.

The annual event encourages relevant stakeholders and the general public to engage in antibiotic stewardship in outpatient and inpatient settings.

The study found that treatment with high-risk antibiotics made sepsis 80 percent more likely compared with patients who were not treated with antibiotics.

The Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity aims to educate providers on Zika screening protocols, clinical interventions, reporting processes and more.

Hospitals will have the opportunity to discuss the potential contamination of heater-cooler devices used during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures.

The targets aim to significantly reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections, MRSA, Clostridium difficile cases, and other infections by 2020.

Stӧckert 3T heater-cooler devices used during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures might have been contaminated with M. Chimaera in the manufacturing process.

An archived recording of an Oct. 11 hospital quality call with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration is now available for members of America's Essential Hospitals.

The recommendations, developed by the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, aim to optimize treatment and minimize adverse consequences.

In August, CDC sent states about $2.5 million in laboratory supplies and equipment — including two diagnostic tests — to combat the Zika virus.

The funding is being administered by SAMHSA and CDC as part of HHS' Opioid Initiative, which aims to combat opioid misuse, dependence, and overdose.

In a Vital Signs report ahead of Sepsis Awareness Month, in September, CDC highlights resources and events aimed at reducing sepsis.

The community health initiative, called Health Impact in 5 Years, launches on Aug. 9 with an introductory web forum.

Funding will support work related to CDC Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative, National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

Agency expands the Zika-specific blood testing window for pregnant women from seven days after symptoms start to up to 14 days.

The funds are intended for epidemiological surveillance and investigation, mosquito control and monitoring, and strengthening of laboratory capacity.

The funding was distributed as part of the Prevention Epicenters Program, which aims to develop and test new approaches to patient safety and infection prevention.

CDC has released a draft interim response plan for the first locally acquired Zika virus cases in the continental United States and Hawaii.

CDC's June Vital Signs finds that the number of U.S. residents with Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever increased 286 percent from 2000 to 2014.

New hospital resource offers examples of ways to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria and outlines CDC's core elements of stewardship programs.

CDC will host two webinars this month to discuss a program to educate health care professionals about the social factors that affect overall health.

The CDC has launched a registry — in collaboration with state, local, tribal, and territorial health agencies — to track pregnancy and infant outcomes of women who were possibly infected with Zika.

To prevent transmission of the virus, workers should use proper infection control and biosafety practices to avoid direct contact with blood-borne pathogens.

To prevent spread, agency recommends personal protective equipment (PPE) for labor and delivery personnel and delays in conception, sexual activity for those with symptoms.

Select laboratories nationally will have access to new diagnostic tool that enables providers to determine with one test, rather than three, whether a patient is infected with chikungunya, dengue, or Zika.

The CDC has organized two events for Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 13-19, and is releasing new patient safety–focused materials on its website.

Children who have been to infected areas within past two weeks or show two or more symptoms of Zika virus should be screened for the virus.

Agency says blood donors should self-defer if they show symptoms, have traveled to Zika-infected regions, or have had sexual contact with someone from an infected region.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory for the growing number of hemodialysis patients who are acquiring hepatitis C virus (HCV).

No-fee course, Feb. 29 to March 4 in Atlanta, to focus on January 2016 updates to the NHSN patient safety component manual.

Educational surveys to help CMS determine best ways to assess infection control regulations for hospitals, nursing homes, and care transitions. Surveys to begin in FY 2016 for nursing homes and in FY 2017 for hospitals.

CDC report outlines the need for monitoring of CRE and related antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Week-long annual event will engage stakeholders in discussion and education about antibiotic stewardship in inpatient, outpatient, and animal health settings.

Initiative seeks to strengthen healthcare-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention, raise awareness of successful strategies, and recognize investment in VTE prevention.

Hospitals should assess units to ensure they are safe and properly maintained and not contaminated with non-tuberculosis mycobacterium. Patients who may have been exposed to NTM should monitor signs of potential infection for several years.

Agencies say anecdotal reports of intentional nonreporting of infection data have prompted them to emphasize the importance of accurate reporting through strict adherence to NHSN definitions.

The prevention epicenters will identify innovative ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in health care facilities. University of Utah and the University of Illinois - Chicago join Cook County Health & Hospital System as essential hospital participants.

Participants will receive training and technical assistance from national community health improvement experts, engage with the new Community Health Improvement Navigator, and exchange ideas with other partnerships. Applications are due Oct. 13.

CDC and FDA remove language from guidelines that requires health care facilities to verify that vendors involved in maintaining, cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing reusable medical devices are certified by the manufacturer.

The CDC and FDA issued a health advisory alerting providers and facilities to properly maintain, clean, disinfect, and sterilize reusable medical devices. Noncompliance creates a gap in patient safety.

Event, open to all providers, will focus on coordinating efforts in the fight against the increasing number of potentially life-threatening germs that resist drugs created to treat them.

New online tools include maps of cases nationally and specific to outbreak linked to Disneyland resort

The use of antiviral medications is especially important this season because the flu vaccine might be less effective against some versions of the virus.