Infection Control News

SEATTLE — Studies continue to show that taking doxycycline after having unprotected sex can prevent STIs in transgender women and men who have sex with men. What has been unclear is whether it also works for cisgender women.

An updated analysis published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews has fueled debate about the effectiveness of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Updated guidelines for hand-washing in medical facilities emphasize healthy skin and nails and easy access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers to reduce health care-associated infections.

New guidelines for hand-washing in medical facilities, aimed at reducing health care- associated infections, focus on healthy skin and nails, as well as easy access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers and improved training.

Prolonged COVID-19 symptoms, including severe fatigue, were more common among patients infected during the pre-delta period compared with the later delta and omicron periods, researchers found.

Rhinoviruses and enteroviruses accounted for nearly three-quarters of viral detections among children during the COVID-19 pandemic and persisted amid declines in other viruses, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

A probiotic safely reduced Staphylococcus aureus colonization in a phase 2 human trial without harming other gut microbiota, suggesting a potential approach to preventing infection without using antibiotics.

Antibiotic prescribing was high among patients with COVID-19, but researchers found that antimicrobial stewardship programs with prospective audit and feedback helped optimize antibiotic treatments among these patients.

There was a sustained decrease in pertussis cases among young infants in the years after maternal Tdap vaccination was introduced in the United States, according to the results of a CDC study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The Biden administration will end the public health emergency and national emergency declarations related to COVID-19 on May 11, according to a White House statement.