Voice for Infection Prevention on X: "SEASON 3!!!🎙️ We’re excited to share the upcoming Voice for Infection Prevention lineup. 💪 Follow along this season as we share insights and perspectives from voices helping shape Infection Prevention. Watch the full interview video on YouTube or listen on any podcast platform! https://t.co/Mv42LrMrje" / X SEASON 3!!!🎙️ We’re excited to share the upcoming Voice for Infection Prevention lineup. 💪 Follow along this season as we share insights and perspectives from voices helping shape Infection Prevention. Watch the full interview video on YouTube or listen on any podcast platform! https://t.co/Mv42LrMrje

x.com/voiceforip/s...

I love these Los Angeles VA hospital scrubs of yore. Positioning the words “government property” on the back pants pocket was a choice, and I commend them for it. 👌

#Legionella pneumonia tied to high death rates, especially in older patients with underlying conditions

Most patients in the study (94%) were hospitalized, and the 30-day death rate was 12%.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/l...

Photo: Christina Spicuzza / Flickr cc

Effects of a video game intervention on symptoms, training motivation, and visuo-spatial memory in depression By Moritz Bergmann, Ines Wollbrandt, Lisa Gittel, Eva Halbe, Sarah Mackert, Alexandra Philipsen, Silke Lux Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany, 2023 doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1173652 Methods: a total of 46 clinically depressed individuals were treatment including psychotherapy and/or randomly assigned to one of three groups: an experimental "3D video gaming" group (n = 14) which played Super Mario Odyssey, an active control group (n = 16) which trained with a computer program "CogPack," and a treatment-as-usual (TAU) group (n = 16) which received a standard clinical pharmacotherapy. Results: regarding depressive symptoms, a significant decrease in the proportion of participants who showed clinical levels of depressive symptoms as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory was only found in the 3D video gaming group (which played Super Mario Odyssey). Conclusion: besides a standalone cognitive training, the current findings suggest that cognitive trainings using a video game have potential to increase subjective well-being, show higher levels of training motivation, and lead to improvements in visuo-spatial memory functions in MDD. The proportion of participants that showed depressive symptoms (BDI-II ≥ 13) at pre- (T1) and post-assessment (T2). For Super Mario Odyssey, 100 at T1 and 57 at T2. Note: information heavily abridged. For the full paper, see link above.

A 2023 German psychiatric study found that playing Super Mario Odyssey significantly improved depressive symptoms in clinically depressed individuals compared to regular psychotherapeutic treatment, reducing depression by 43%.

Take me down to the Parallax city where the far moves slow and the near moves quickly

Medford School Closed For 2nd Day After Suspected Norovirus Outbreak | WBZ NewsRadio 1030 A suspected stomach bug has cleared out an elementary school in Medford.

If you found the Roberts Elementary #Norovirus outbreak interesting, I recommend reading The Disease Detective!
(www.elysefritschel.com)

Elyse Fritschel

OK HERE'S SOME AWESOME NEWS!! My old friend (seriously, we met in 5th grade) @elysethebeast.bsky.social's book The Disease Detectives is FINALLY OUT!! It's a microbiology mystery for middle-grade readers, teaching them the basics of epidemiology and disease tracking.

(con't)

www.elysefritschel.com

The cover for The Disease Detective by Elyse Fritshel announcing it's publication day.

It’s Publication Day! Join in the search for an elusive germ in The Disease Detective, an exciting middle grade mystery by Elyse Fritschel. www.bedazzledink.com/the-disease-... #publicationday #kitlit #middlegradebooks
@elysethebeast.bsky.social

✅ Watched Robot Dreams (again) on the 21st day of September :)

Map of Regional Public Health Coalitions Northeast Public Health Collaborative (Blue) West Coast Health Alliance (Yellow)

IT'S OFFICIAL: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New York City have formed the Northeast Public Health Collaborative.

The collaborative will issue their own vaccine recommendations and coordinate public health efforts.

Study shows high rate of multidrug-resistant bacteria in hospitalized Ukrainian refugees

More than 1 in 5 (21.2%) Ukrainian refugees/asylum seekers had clinical multidrug resistant (MDR) infections. The MDR infection rate was 45.5% among MDR carriers with war wounds.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobia...

RFK Jr. says measles vaccine routinely causes deaths. That's not true RFK Jr.'s claims on the safety of vaccine safety aren't backed by the data.

RFK Jr. misleads, deceives or simply lies when he claims the measles vaccine "routinely" causes deaths. IT DOES NOT.
@matthewherper.bsky.social lays out the facts.

www.statnews.com/2025/03/14/r...

‘Vaguely Threatening’: Federal Prosecutor Queries Leading Medical Journal The New England Journal of Medicine received a letter suggesting that it was biased and compromised by external pressure. Other journals have also received the letter.

Breaking News: A federal prosecutor interrogated the The New England Journal of Medicine — which is considered the world’s most prestigious medical journal — in what its editor described as a “vaguely threatening” letter.

Here we are, modelling data showing the impact that falls in vaccination rates will have on measles, rubella, diphtheria and polio in US.

Disease rates will rise, but measles predictably most affected by smallest drop off in vaccination rates. #IDSky #vaccination #vaccine

Marital status and risk of dementia over 18 years: Surprising findings from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center INTRODUCTION Marital status is a potential risk/protective factor for adverse health outcomes. This study tested whether marital status was associated with dementia risk in older adults. METHODS P...

Whoa

alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Trends of Surgical Site Infection and Periprosthetic Joint Infection after Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty in Two National Health Registers 2013 - 2022 This study aimed to assess trends in surgical site infection (SSI), reoperations for SSI, and reoperations for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) following primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) in No...

🦴This study assesses trends in surgical site infection (#SSI), reoperations for SSI, and reoperations for periprosthetic joint infection following primary total hip arthroplasty in Norway from 2013 to 2022
www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S019...

CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health Members of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service were warned Friday that many of them were about to be fired

In a reckless move that could put countless Americans at risk, CDC cuts are expected to devastate the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health EIS officers tasked with investigating disease outbreaks and health threats in the U.S. and abroad.

From the DataHoarder community on Reddit: data.cdc.gov full archive Explore this post and more from the DataHoarder community

For those in need of CDC’s datasets: www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarde...

Notes from the Field: Emergency Department ... This report describes wildfire-associated emergency department encounters immediately after the 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires.

MMWR’s back!

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

Trump administration directs federal health agencies to pause communications | CNN Amid a deluge of executive actions, the Trump administration has directed federal health agencies to pause external communications, such as regular scientific reports, updates to websites and health a...

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/01/...

In effect through Feb 1:

-federal health agencies to pause external comms
-regulations/guidance/notices/social media/websites/press releases to be reviewed by a presidential appointee beforehand
-employees can’t participate in public speaking engagements w/o approval

WHO comments on United States announcement of intent to withdraw The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization. WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go. The United States was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has participated in shaping and governing WHO’s work ever since, alongside 193 other Member States, including through its active participation in the World Health Assembly and Executive Board. For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership in WHO. With the participation of the United States and other Member States, WHO has over the past 7 years implemented the largest set of reforms in its history, to transform our accountability, cost-effectiveness, and impact in countries. This work continues. We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.

WHO comments on United States announcement of intent to withdraw bit.ly/4hrbeJ7

Tanzania health ministry reports negative test results in suspected Marburg virus outbreak Global health groups encourage further follow-up testing and share more details about the initial cases.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/marburg/tanz...
Less than one month after Rwanda’s Marburg outbreak ended, we await confirmation in Tanzania.
-> 9 illnesses
-> 8 deaths
-> 300 contacts (including 56 healthcare workers)

Thinking of my coworkers in LA and beyond…stay safe, all.

New from Rock et al as part of the CDC Prevention Epicenters and MInD Programs

Electronic evaluation of infection risk from room environment and prior room occupants: the transmission from room environment events (TREE) measure

#IDSky

📄: doi.org/10.1017/ice....

I cut off a few books (The Wide Wide Sea, The Design of Everyday Things, Ten Birds That Changed the World, and Level Up!), but here’s what I read in 2024.

#goodreads #booksky

www.instagram.com/share/BAEJl3...
Bonus points for using the Bristol stool chart 😂

www.instagram.com/share/BAQmof...

Unknown disease kills 143 in southwest Congo, local authorities say An unknown disease killed 143 people in Democratic Republic of the Congo's southwestern province in November, local authorities told Reuters.

🚨breaking news🚨

An unknown illness (with flu-like symptoms, including high fever and severe headaches) killed 143 individuals last month in DRC’s southwestern province

New article regarding HCP return to work issues after covid and other RVIs

Thank you! ❤️