Setting of Care: Acute Care Hospital

APIC: Updated Monkeypox Playbook (11/07/2025)

  • Recent updates to the Monkeypox Playbook include the CDC’s Traveler Health Notice advising enhanced precautions and an updated Risk/Triage Scale recommending increased awareness. Additional information covers the current global situation of monkeypox and the latest outbreak reports.

CDC: Health Alert- Use Only Sterile Ultrasound Gel for Percutaneous Procedures (5/13/2025)

  • Health Alert: Use Only Sterile Ultrasound Gel for Percutaneous Procedures (5/13/2025)
    • An ongoing multistate investigation involves the use of non-sterile ultrasound gel during ultrasound-guided percutaneous procedures. An environmental bacterium Paraburkholderia fungorum has been identified from patient cultures and non-sterile ultrasound gel products.
    • CDC recommends using only single-use ultrasound gel products labeled as "sterile" to reduce the risk of infection during ultrasonography for preparatory and procedural applications, including central and peripheral intravenous line placement, amniocentesis, paracentesis, tissue biopsies, and surgical interventions.

CMS: Proposed Rules for Prospective Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs (4/30/2025)

CMS: 2025 NHSN Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Updates for the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program (01/2025)

VDH Clinician Letter: Measles Updates for Virginia (3/12/2025)

  • Stresses importance of staying alert for measles given recent exposure events and other ongoing measles outbreaks in the United States.
  • Reviews CDC guidance for preventing and controlling measles in healthcare settings including vaccine recommendations. See the CDC measles Health Advisory for more reminders about measles.

CDC Health Advisory: Expanding Measles Outbreak in the United States and Guidance for the Upcoming Travel Session (3/07/2025)

  • Emphasizes that healthcare professionals and travelers should ensure compliance with MMR vaccination guidelines to mitigate the risk of measles, especially among individuals traveling to areas with known outbreaks.
  • Details best practices for monitoring, diagnosing, and managing measles cases while underscoring the current low risk of widespread measles in the U.S. due to strong immunization efforts.

CDC Health Advisory: Ebola Outbreak Caused by Sudan virus in Uganda (2/6/2025)

  • Review CDC's recommendations for U.S. public health departments and clinicians about case identification, testing, and biosafety considerations in clinical laboratories.
  • As a precaution and because there are other viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in East Africa, CDC is sharing best practices to raise awareness about this outbreak.

VDH Clinician Letter: Avian Influenza Update for Virginia (1/31/2025)

  • Avian influenza A(H5) has not been detected in people or dairy cattle in Virginia. It has recently been detected in Virginia in wild birds, commercial poultry, and in birds housed in a zoo collection. These detections are not unexpected, as avian influenza A(H5) virus is currently widely circulating in the environment. The risk from avian influenza viruses to the public remains low. People with job-related or recreational exposure to birds or other avian influenza virus-infected animals are at greater risk of infection.
  • Clinicians should consider the possibility of avian influenza virus infection in persons showing signs or symptoms of acute respiratory illness or conjunctivitis who have a relevant exposure history. This includes people who have had contact with potentially infected sick or dead birds, livestock, or other animals or animal products within 10 days before their symptom onset.