Automated Real-Time Collection of Pathogen-Specific Diagnostic Data: Syndromic Infectious Disease Epidemiology.

Background: Health care and public health professionals rely on accurate, real-time monitoring of infectious diseases for outbreak preparedness and response. Early detection of outbreaks is improved by systems that are comprehensive and specific with respect to the pathogen but are rapid in reporting the data. It has proven difficult to implement these requirements on a large scale while maintaining patient privacy.

Impact of home versus hospital dressing on bacterial contamination of surgical scrubs in the obstetric setting: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The impact of the site where an obstetrician dresses in their surgical scrubs, home versus hospital, on total bacterial burden remains unknown. Therefore, our objective was to quantify the effect of dressing in surgical scrubs at home versus at the hospital on the bacterial contamination at the beginning of a scheduled shift.

Methods: This was a single blind randomized controlled trial.

Microbial Contamination on Touch Surfaces in Sick- and Well-Child Waiting Rooms in Pediatric Outpatient Facilities.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections are a significant public health burden resulting in approximately 1.7 million infections each year. Much work is done to study the contributing factors in inpatient settings; however, little has been done to study outpatient facilities and their roles in healthcare-associated infections.