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Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs may contribute to the transmission of influenza-like illness (ILI) to colleagues and susceptible patients by working while sick (presenteeism). The present study aimed to explore the views and behavior of HCWs and non-HCWs towards the phenomenon of working while experiencing ILI. Methods The study was a cross-sectional online survey conducted between October 2018 and January 2019 to explore sickness presenteeism and the behaviour of HCWs and non-HCWs

Flexible endoscopes are widely used to examine, diagnose, and treat medical disorders. While the risk of endoscopy-related transmission of infection is estimated to be very low, more health care-associated infections are related to contaminated endoscopes than to any other medical device. Flexible endoscopes can get highly contaminated with microorganisms, secretions and blood during use. The narrow lumens and multiple internal channels make the cleaning of flexible endoscopes a complex and difficult task.Despite the availability of international, national and local endoscope reprocessing guidelines, contamination and transmission of microorganisms continue to occur. These transmissions are mostly related to the use of defective equipment, endoscope reprocessing failures, and noncompliance with recommended guidelines. This article presents an overview of publications about case reports and outbreaks related to contamination of flexible endoscopes.

Importance Resistance of gram-negative bacilli to carbapenems is rapidly emerging worldwide. In 2016, the World Health Organization defined the hospital-built environment as a core component of infection prevention and control programs. The hospital-built environment has recently been reported as a source for outbreaks and sporadic transmission events of carbapenemase-producing gram-negative bacilli from the environment to patients. Objective To assess risk after the identification of an unexpected, severe, and lethal hospital-acquired infection caused by carbapenemase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a carbapenemase-low endemic setting. Design, Settings, and Participants A case series study in which a risk assessment was performed on all 11 patients admitted to the combined cardiothoracic surgery and pulmonary diseases ward and the hospital-built environment in the Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands, in February 2018. Exposures Water and aerosols containing carbapenemase-producing (Verona integron-mediated metallo-β-lactamase [VIM]) P aeruginosa. Main Outcomes and Measures Colonization and/or infection of patients and/or contamination of the environment after the detection of 1 patient infected with carbapenemase-producing (VIM) P aeruginosa . Results A total of 5 men (age range, 60-84 years) and 6 women (age range, 55-74 years) were admitted to the combined cardiothoracic surgery and pulmonary diseases ward. The risk assessment was performed after carbapenemase-producing (VIM) P aeruginosa was unexpectedly detected in a man in his early 60s, who had undergone a left-sided pneumonectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy. No additional cases (colonization or infection) of carbapenemase-producing (VIM) P aeruginosa were detected. Plausible transmission of carbapenemase-producing P aeruginosa from the hospital environment to the patient via the air was confirmed by whole-genome sequencing, which proved the relation of Pseudomonas strains from the patient, the shower drains in 8 patient rooms, 1 sink, and an air sample. Conclusions and Relevance This study suggests that rethinking the hospital-built environment, including shower drains and the sewage system, will be crucial for the prevention of severe and potential lethal hospital-acquired infections.