Follow up to post about hospital garb & microbes: overworking nurses not a good idea

Interesting article on the possible connection between overworked/burned out nurses and hospital acquired infections: Burned-out nurses linked to more infections in patients – Vitals. Not clear whether any type of causal relationship was established here (though I doubt it).  But nevertheless, this is yet another factor to consider when thinking about the transmission of microbes in …

A year old but still worth pondering – is hospital garb a vector for microbes?

Accidentally wandered into this year old story from what was then MSNBC: Hospital garb harbors nasty bacteria, study says. The story discusses something that is nearly always on my mind when I hear discussions of hospital acquired infections – scrubs.  I am amazed, for example, at how many people from the UC Davis Veterinary School/Hospital (which …

“Architectural design influences the diversity and structure of the built environment microbiome” – paper by the BioBE Center group

We’ve posted in the past (here, here, here, and here) about some of the interesting work taking place at the BioBE Center regarding microbial community structure in health-care facilities.  Today a paper on this topic came out in the ISME Journal. This paper is certainly worth a read for anyone interested in the microbiology of …

Ever been grossed out by hospital workers wearing scrubs wherever they go? New study relates to this

When I walk around UC Davis campus or visit areas near hospitals I am always dismayed by the number of people wearing their scrubs when they go out to lunch, seminars, or just walk around.  I have always wondered whether those scrubs harbor anything nasty.  Well, a new study in the American Journal of Infection Control …

California’s attempt to limit hospital acquired bacterial infections falters

Well, this is a disappointing story.  In 2006 and 2008 California passed some legislation with the ultimate goal of limiting hospital acquired infections.  Unfortunately, enforcement and use of the legislation has faltered, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee by Deborah Schoch: Deadly bacteria lurk inside hospital wards Not much positive to report here though …

@NYTimes has editorial on hospital acquired infections #microBEnet

The New York Times from yesterday has an editorial discussing hospital acquired infections: Hospitals Shouldn’t Make You Sicker – NYTimes.com. They discuss some new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine as well as some efforts by the Obama Administration.  While there is a lot of research on hospital acquired infections, one thing the Times …