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11 INFECTION CONTROL APIC recognizes 8 leaders for infection prevention work By Mackenzie Bean T he Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology has recognized eight infection preventionists with its Heroes of Infection Prevention Award, the organization said Aug. 2. e awards, founded in 2006, recognize infection preventionists who have developed and implemented innovative infection prevention programs. A breakdown of the 2022 winners is below. Commander Jeffrey Miller, MD. Pennsylvania Department of Health (Harrisburg) Category: Leadership Jodie Leonard, RN. Gunnison (Colo.) Valley Health Hospital Category: Leadership Kelley Knapek, BSN, RN. Good Samaritan Medical Center (Lafayette, Colo.) Category: Leadership Patrick Gordon, DNP, RN. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston) Category: Quality improvement Erin Minnerath; Tiffany Martens, BSN, RN; and Angie Silva. St. Mary's Medical Center (Grand Junction, Colo.) Category: Infection prevention and control operations Elizabeth Richardson, MSN, RN. Beebe Healthcare (Lewes, Del.) Category: Infection prevention and control operations n Superbugs move beyond healthcare setting, CDC study finds By Cailey Gleeson T he CDC found 1 in 10 infections caused by a type of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogen are community-associated, occurring in patients who had not been exposed to healthcare-linked risks, like hospitalizations. Researchers from the agency partnered with eight U.S. health departments for the study. They used population- based surveillance data for patients infected by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales from January 2012 to December 2015. Most of the infections were observed in women with urinary tract infections. Their findings were published July 27 in the American Journal of Infection Control. "CRE cause difficult-to-treat infections and have the potential to spread rapidly, including outside of the healthcare setting, where most cases currently occur … and some Enterobacterales are common causes of infection that occur in the community already," Sandra Bulens, CDC epidemiologist and lead study author, told CIDRAP News. "So there's a real potential for these organisms to spread into the community." n Transmission risk from changing COVID-19 patients' bed linens is low, study suggests By Cailey Gleeson W hile droplet or airborne transmission is possible while changing COVID-19 patients' bed linens, the risk is low for clinicians, a study published Sept. 2 in Nature suggested. Researchers analyzed hospitals admitting 13 symptomatic COVID-19 patients from Sept. 16, 2020, to Nov. 19, 2020. The presence of the virus on linens before and after washing or disinfection was evaluated on the first day that participants were admitted to the hospital or facility and on the third day after admission. In total, researchers collected and tested 700 samples for the presence of the virus: 362 from linens, 26 from rinse water, 104 from air and 208 from personal protective equipment. The virus was detected on all linen types, but not in rinse water after washing with tap water, disinfecting with sodium hypochlorite or disinfecting with 80°C water. The virus was detected in 1 in 5 samples after washing with laundry detergent and in 1 in 6 samples after washing with fabric softener. A noted limitation of the study was only asymptomatic patients and symptomatic patients with mild upper respiratory tract symptoms were analyzed, and those with severe disease were not included. n