Long-term surveillance of wastewater has revealed hidden transmission of SARS-CoV-2, enabling early detection of variants and thereby supporting new public health mandates across the European Union. This field of study, known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), has emerged as a key strategy for infection prevention, environmental hygiene, and proactive management of potential outbreaks. Particularly in the…
The respiratory pathogen named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 and escalated into a global pandemic by March 2020. By September 2025, more than 7 million deaths had occurred worldwide due to the resulting disease, COVID-19. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are wide, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe conditions…
A study has revealed pivotal insights on risk factors related to in-hospital (nosocomial) SARS-CoV-2 infections, as well as the effectiveness of vaccination in preventing these infections in hospitals located in the Stockholm region. Risk factors investigated were divided into two main categories: individual attributes such as age, sex and existing health conditions; and factors related…
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens pose significant threats to global health. Challenges associated with these threats have intensified with the rise of SARS-CoV-2 and an expanding immunocompromised population. Isolation precautions form a critical part of infection prevention control (IPC) strategies, but their arbitrary usage can strain resources and impede patient well-being, necessitating a…
Undeniably, comprehensive analysis of in-hospital transmission rates and SARS-CoV-2 viral infection dynamics among healthcare workers is of paramount importance in the bid to protect these front-line workers. Brazil, deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, offers valuable insights but limited data regarding this aspect. A cohort study targeting two tertiary hospitals in Central Brazil – one…
With the aim to equip healthcare professionals with profound insight on infection prevention, especially in the backdrop of a pandemic, this article presents a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence and potential risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 infections among healthcare workers (HCWs). This piece is generated from a vast study examining robust data from MEDLINE, Embase, and…
Contact tracing has played a crucial role in understanding SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics since the pandemic's inception. In this context, the analysis of quasispecies through intra-host single nucleotide variants (iSNVs) has proven to be a particularly helpful instrument for outbreak investigations. This article presents a study conducted in Brescia Civic Hospital to understand the virus transmission…
A deep dive into research reveals essential findings on the dynamics and economic burdens of SARS-CoV-2 infections within hospitals, crucial knowledge for those invested in infection prevention. The study involved a thorough retrospective analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infections from March 2020 to June 2021 in two secondary care hospitals in Germany. It focused on elucidating the…
Hospital-acquired (or 'nosocomial') SARS-CoV-2 infection continues to pose significant harm to patients, despite a decrease in morbidity and mortality rates observed since the pre-Omicron period, as per the recent research findings published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. This retrospective study, conducted from December 2020 to April 2023, involved a cohort of hospitalized adults across…
Recent research published in Clinical Infectious Diseases scrutinizes the effectiveness of infection prevention (IP) protocols, specifically those implemented during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, in safeguarding healthcare workers and patients against the virus. While infection prevention measures have served as fundamental tools against infectious diseases in healthcare settings for decades, their potency in the face of SARS-CoV-2…