Crossing the Chasm

Crossing the Chasm

We often get asked what other institutions are doing for their infection control and outbreak detection and how many are actually using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) routinely for outbreak transmission investigations. Well, the answer is…. complicated… Integrating WGS...
When Water Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

When Water Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

Water is the essence of life—nothing can live without it, but what happens when water becomes the source of life-threatening infections? Environmental reservoirs have been linked to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), with water being one of the key accomplices....
To Screen or Not to Screen

To Screen or Not to Screen

When investigating HAI outbreaks, your decisions have significant consequences. Implementing disruptive precautionary measures without confirming clonality can be costly and unnecessary. But failing to deal with real outbreaks early can lead to patient safety concerns...
Just can’t seem to shake it off?

Just can’t seem to shake it off?

If you’ve been in infection control for a while, you know what it feels like when you seem to have a persistent outbreak and just can’t seem to shake it off… But how do you know it’s actually an ongoing outbreak? Are the new cases you are seeing related to the prior...
What is up with NTM?

What is up with NTM?

Recently, we received multiple requests to help with Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) healthcare-associated infection (HAI) investigations from hospitals located in different parts of the country, all within a short period of time. It’s not the first time we’ve been...