Virginia Infection Prevention & Control Training Alliance (VIPTA)

VIPTA is a statewide infection prevention and control education collaborative, led by the Virginia Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Group.  Through partnership, VIPTA curates IPC resources for Virginia’s healthcare, congregate care, and public health settings.

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Infection Prevention Rapid Resources

The Virginia Department of Health HAI/AR Program partnered with CDC’s Project Firstline to create a series of Infection Prevention Rapid Resources to get you the most critical information fast. 

  • Infographics that have the most critical information to get started 
  • Links to additional expert resources to expand your knowledge 

Ways to Share This Resource  

  • Easily match the correct resource level to your target audience 
  • Available topics include Candida auris, norovirus, and flu     

Target Audience: Essentials to Foundational IPC education levels 

Guidance & Regulation Updates

VIPTA members track guidance and regulation resources to share source documents that guide infection prevention and control practices for public health staff and clinical and non-clinical healthcare personnel.

The date of the regulation or guidance update is included in each post.  Please check linked content to be sure it is the most up to date and recommended practice.

H5N1 Bird Flu: Current Situation Summary (5/24/2024)
CDC
Any Practice Setting
Emergency Preparedness & Operations
Surveillance
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with two cases of H5 in U.S. dairy workers. While the current public health risk is low, CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures. CDC is using its flu surveillance systems to monitor for H5N1 activity in people.
Updates on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (5/20/2024)
FDA
Department of Health
Surveillance
FDA is providing routine updates on avian influenza and the ongoing work to ensure continued effectiveness of the federal-state milk safety system.
Health Advisory: Meningococcal Disease Cases Linked to Travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Ensure Pilgrims are Current on Meningococcal Vaccination (5/20/2024)
CDC
Acute Care Hospital
Ambulatory (Outpatient) Care
Department of Health
Mobile Clinic
Pediatric / NICU
Emergency Preparedness & Operations
Surveillance
Vaccination
Since April 2024, 12 cases of meningococcal disease linked to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) travel for Umrah have been reported to national public health agencies in multiple countries including the United States (U.S.). Healthcare providers in the U.S. should: Recommend quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccination for people considering travel to KSA to perform Hajj or Umah (pilgrims) in addition to routine meningococcal vaccination for adolescents and other people at increased meningococcal disease risk. Maintain a heightened index of suspicion for meningococcal disease. Immediately notify the local health department about suspected or confirmed cases of meningococcal disease. Consider postexposure prophylaxis.
Rapid Evidence Product: Active Infection Surveillance of Clostridioides difficile ( diff) and Multidrug-Resistant Organisms: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), and Candida auris (5/9/2024)
AHRQ
Acute Care Hospital
Department of Health
Nursing Home / Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
Surveillance
A summary of relevant and recent literature on active surveillance strategies in patient populations to reduce infection transmission of Clostridioides difficile, MRSA, CRE, and Candida auris.
VDH: Reporting Adverse Events in Children Following Exposure to THC and CBD Containing Products (4/24/2024)
VDH
Acute Care Hospital
Ambulatory (Outpatient) Care
Department of Health
Pediatric / NICU
Surveillance
Photo of Fairfax County Health Department staff celebrating Antimicrobial Awareness Week with purple balloons.

FCHD’s Antibiotic Awareness Week: A Celebration of Health & Education

The Fairfax County Health Department’s Strengthening Antimicrobial Stewardship in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SASS) team put together an amazing educational program for U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (USAAW) in November 2023! Their team is using CDC funding to focus on improving antimicrobial stewardship in skilled nursing facilities. During USAAW, they rolled out a toolkit for skilled nursing facilities to use for their own facility education.  

We spoke to Samantha Christensen, Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) HAI Epidemiologist to learn more about their Antibiotic Awareness Week toolkit. The FCHD started the week off with a big celebration, beginning with a kickoff breakfast, an antimicrobial stewardship podcast playlist with QR codes for easy access, and a microbe “joke of the day”. They also put up a tri-fold education poster with purple themed balloons and decorations, wore purple for Antimicrobial Awareness Week, had antimicrobial stewardship themed trivia with Starbucks gift cards for prizes, and held a watch party (with snacks, of course) for everyone to view educational infection prevention and control videos!

And because we know you want to hear the jokes…. “What’s the most popular antibiotic in Italy?  Amoxsicilian!”   Here’s another good one… “What’s the opposite of an antibiotic?  An uncle-biotic!”

Congratulations to Samantha and the entire FCHD team for developing this fun and unique education program to ensure smart antibiotic use in skilled nursing facilities! 

IPC Education & Training Library

Search the VIPTA library of curated infection prevention and control (IPC) education and training resources. The IPC Education & Training Resource Library includes state and national resources related to healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial resistance and/or IPC. Visit the VIPTA FAQ page to learn more about VIPTA library content.

 

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