Healthcare Hygiene magazine February 2021 February 2021 | Page 9

The Role of the Nose in Staphylococcus aureus Infections : Can We Mitigate the Risk ?
• Probably the biggest concern on everyone ’ s mind is whether the new vaccines will be effective on B . 1.1.7 strain .
• Preliminary data has not shown that B . 1.1.7 causes more severe illness than other strains .
healthcare community should focus on . Probably the biggest concern on everyone ’ s mind is whether the new vaccines will be effective on B . 1.1.7 strain . Preliminary data has not shown that B . 1.1.7 causes more severe illness than other strains . Likewise , it appears that the mutations to the virus spike protein have not shown new vaccines will not provide immunological protection ( efficacy ) but we must continue to monitor data with continued efforts of understanding the effect , if any , on all vaccines produced for SARS-CoV-2 .
My medical laboratory and public health colleagues are also concerned with how changes in the virus spike protein or other mutation events may affect the laboratory detection of new strains . Briefly , when a virus mutates , sometimes it can decrease the ability for a laboratory test ( antigenic or molecular ) to “ pickup ” the new strain that could create false negatives . Lastly , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) reports that only 51,000 of 17 million ( 0.3 percent ) cases are sequenced in the U . S .
It is critical to our national and global public health security that we put into place a more comprehensive effort to sequence more virus specimens to follow viral changes . To address this concern , the CDC has launched the National SARS-CoV-2 Strain Surveillance program , requiring each state to send them at least 10 samples bi-weekly for sequencing and characterization , which will identify B . 1.1.7 and any other SARS-CoV-2 variants .
Acknowledgement : Dr . Rose Lee , https :// asm . org / Articles / 2021 / January / B-1-1-7-What-We-Know-About-the-Novel-SARS-CoV-2
Rodney E . Rohde , PhD , MS , SM ( ASCP ) CM SVCM , MBCM , FACSc , serves as chair and professor of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at Texas State ; associate director for the Translational Health Research Initiative ; as well as associate dean for research in the College of Health Professions . Follow him on Twitter @ RodneyRohde / @ TXST _ CLS , or on his website : http :// rodneyerohde . wp . txstate . edu /

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The Role of the Nose in Staphylococcus aureus Infections : Can We Mitigate the Risk ?
This webinar will describe the benefits of nasal decolonization for the prevention of Staphylococcus aureus infections and review the emerging data supporting comprehensive MRSA / MSSA colonization risk mitigation programs .
Since retiring as the national infection prevention director for Kaiser Permanente in 2016 , Sue Barnes , RN , CIC , FAPIC , now serves as an advisor and consultant for industry partners and professional organizations including APIC , AORN and IDSA . She is board-certified in infection control and prevention and was granted the designation of Fellow of APIC in 2015 . She has worked in the field of infection prevention since 1989 . She has participated in the development of APIC guides and served as a speaker for organizations including AORN and APIC . In addition , Barnes has been published in journals including AORN Journal , American Journal of Infection Control , the Joint Commission Source for Compliance Strategies and The Permanente Journal . She served on the national APIC board of directors from 2010 to 2012 , and the San Francisco APIC chapter board of directors from 2007 to 2017 .
Learning Objectives
• Describe the role of the nares in infections caused by S . aureus
• Identify three limitations of screen and treat S . aureus / MRSA risk mitigation programs ( targeted decolonization )
• Review the emerging data supporting comprehensive MRSA / MSSA colonization risk mitigation programs
This webinar offers 1 contact hour of continuing education for nurses . ( Keystone Media Inc ./ Healthcare Hygiene magazine - CEP 17500 - is an approved provider by the California Board of Registered Nurses ).
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