Infection Control Matters

Safeguarding During Transit: RAF Expertise in High Consequence Infectious Disease Retrieval

In this episode Martin talks to Squadron Leader Tez Cooling and Flight Lieutenant Emma Foley about their work in the Royal Air Force (RAF) retrieval service for patients with known and suspected High Consequence Infectious Disease who are transferred to specialist units in the UK.
The team discuss how the Air Transportable Isolator (ATI) is used in order to safely carry out repatriations in a timely manner and the training that is required to operate suct a specialist service.
 

The no diaper (AKA nappy) zone - reducing CAUTI?

In this 2-segment episode, Brett, Phil and Martin firstly mull over a nurse-led, bottom up (pun intended) quality improvement project that aimed to reduce CAUTI in a neonatal ICU in Georgia, USA. Having discussed how great it is to see this type of work written up, Martin then spoke to Katie Cabral the lead author for more insights and to find out if the innovation has been sustained.
 
Cabral K, Anderson V, Allen I, Hoskins D, Byers K, Gettis M. Entering a No Diaper Zone: Rethinking Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection. Critical care nurse 2025;45(4):21-8. https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2025843 

Can modelling tell us what factors influence CAUTI in long and short-term catheters?

In this episode, Brett, Phil and Martin discuss a recent paper from Freya Bull and colleagues, who undertook a modelling exercise to determine what factors determine the colonisation process for long and short-term urinary catheters. It turns out that different factors are in play here and that strategies for CAUTI prevention miht be different for each.
You can read the paper here:
Bull F, Tavaddod S, Bommer N, Perry M, Brackley CA, Allen RJ. Different factors control long-term versus short-term outcomes for bacterial colonisation of a urinary catheter. Nat Commun 2025;16(1):3940. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59161-y. 
Brett's group's previous work on short-term catheters is here:
Fasugba O, Cheng AC, Gregory V, Graves N, Koerner J, Collignon P, et al. Chlorhexidine for meatal cleaning in reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections: a multicentre stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial. Lancet Infect Dis 2019;19(6):611-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30736-9. 

Leading Public Health, ID and IPC during challenging times

In this episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Drs Priya Nori and Gonzalo Bearman. Priya is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Orthopedic Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA. Gonzalo is Chair of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Internal Medicine and Associate Chief Quality and Safety Officer for Research at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, USA.
We chat about a recent book entitled "Courageous Leadership in Infectious Diseases and Public Health During Challenging Times" that they edited, in which they conducted in-depth interviews with luminaries whose careers span multiple aspects of infectious diseases and public health. We discuss the themes, lessons and nuggets gleaned from long and successful careers in Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Infection Prevention.
A short section of the book as a preview is available here: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/resources/pdfs/978-1-0364-4766-3-sample.pdf 
The book is published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle, UK
ISBN: 1-0364-4766-9 and ISBN13: 978-1-0364-4766-3

What's new in Surgical Site Infection Prevention? Update from EUCIC

In this episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Gabriel Birgand, Clinical Co-ordinator of EUCIC (European Committee on Infection Control) which is part of ESCMID Global (European Society for Clinical Microbilogy and Infectious Dieseases). Gabriel is the lead of the Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control (Pays de la Loire region), Nantes University Hospital and also Head of the National Center for Surveillance and Prevention of AMR (antimicrobial resistance) and HAI (healthcare associated infections) in primary care and nursing homes.
EUCIC has recently published a set of slides that have reviewed recent papers relevant to SSI prevention and we had the opportunity to discuss these papers. The link to the slides is below.
You can find our more about the activities of EUCIC here: https://www.escmid.org/science-research/eucic/eucic-educational-activities/
To download the freely available slides, follow this link: https://www.escmid.org/fileadmin/escmid/media/pdf/eucic/Review_EUCIC_02_07_2025.pptx 

Posters from the Hong Kong Infection Control Nurses Association conference

In this episode, Brett reviews a few posters from the Hong Kong Infection Control Nurses Association conference.  Topics include fit testing, bloodstream infection surveillance and environmental cleaning. 
The poster discussed in the podcast can be viewed and downloaded here. 
 
 

The Plume Room - adventures in toilet hygiene

In this episode recorded in an Irish Bar in Nelson (NZ), Brett and Martin dive headfirst into the swirling world of toilet aerosols, airborne pathogens, and potential mitigations.We begin with a older study by Scott, Bloomfield, and Barlow examining the effectiveness of disinfection in real-world settings and how this depends heavily on practical application and behavioural compliance. Then we move to move to a recent contribution by Higham and colleagues, who shift the focus from surface disinfection to airborne exposure. Their paper presents a quantitative microbial risk assessment framework that models aerosolised viral particles generated by toilet flushing that demonstrates the importance of ventilation. Finally we discuss the work of Boone and colleagues, who evaluate a practical intervention—an air sanitizer spray—and its impact on reducing airborne virus concentrations following flushing events.
Papers that we discuss:
Scott E, Bloomfield SF, Barlow CG. Evaluation of disinfectants in the domestic environment under 'in use' conditions. J Hyg (Lond) 1984;92(2):193-203. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022172400064214
Higham CA, López-García M, Noakes CJ, Tidswell E, Fletcher L. A Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) framework for exposure from toilet flushing using experimental aerosol concentration measurements. Indoor Environments 2025;2(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indenv.2024.100069 
Boone SA, Betts-Childress ND, Ijaz MK, McKinney J, Gerba CP. The impact of an air sanitizer spray on the risk of virus transmission by aerosols generated by toilet flushing. Am J Infect Control 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2025.04.008 

Automated national HCAI surveillance - potential or pipedream?

In this episode, Brett, Phil and Martin discuss a recent paper from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that examined the timeliness of data points that could be used for a centrally implemented, automated HCAI surveillance system in England, as a potential alternative to the24 current locally-implemented system. The aim was to examine the potential for a national, automated surveillance system that could reduce the burden of the existing labour-intensive process for mandatory surveillance in England although the results were felt to be generalisable.
Link to the paper we discuss:Quan TP, Eyre DW, Shadwell S, West D, Hopkins S, Chudasama D, et al. Timeliness of a potential automated system for national surveillance of healthcare-associated infections in England. J Hosp Infect 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2025.04.008. 

A re-introduction to Infection Control Matters 1500 days on

In this episode, we discuss the purpose of infection control matters and why we started the podcast. Recorded 1500 days after we started the podcast, Brett, Phil and Martin reflect on the podcast to date.
For new listeners, is also a chance to learn more about our approach to the podcast and how to make the most of our website.

National vs local IPC Guidelines - Lost in Translation?

In this episode, we explore the crucial disconnect between national infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines and the local policies implemented in residential aged care (RAC) facilities. Brett and Martin talk to Dr Sanne Peters and Dr Kirsty Buising about their recent paper that reports on their recent analysis using the AACTT (Action, Actor, Context, Target, Time) behavioural framework, which reveals a lack of alignment and specificity in many local IPC documents.
We discuss:
Why well-intentioned policies often fail to drive behaviour
The implications of vague IPC statements in high-risk environments
How local RAC settings can better translate national guidelines into actionable, behaviourally specific practices
The role of co-design, leadership, and implementation science in bridging the gap
The paper we discuss:
Peters S, Lim LL, Francis JJ, Bennett N, Fetherstonhaugh D, Buising K, et al. Analysis of infection prevention and control documentation in residential aged care based on a behaviour specification framework. Infect Dis Health 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2025.03.002.