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 associat...
Jul 24, 2025•32 min•Season 4Ep. 163
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 .
Jul 09, 2025•10 min•Season 3Ep. 162
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 disin...
Jun 25, 2025•21 min•Season 3Ep. 161
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 the 24 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...
Jun 11, 2025•16 min•Season 4Ep. 160
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.
May 28, 2025•11 min•Season 3Ep. 159
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-...
May 14, 2025•35 min•Ep. 158
In this episode Martin talks to Dr Andy Borman, (Acting Head and Consultant Clinical Scientist, UKHSA National UK Mycology Reference Lab. also Hon Professor of Medical Mycology, MRC CMM, University of Exeter), Dr Colin Brown (Deputy Director of Emerging and Epidemic Infections at UK Health Security Agency; Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust) and Dr Mariyam Mirfenderesky (Consultant in Medical Microbiology and Infectious...
Apr 30, 2025•46 min•Season 4Ep. 157
In this episode of Infection Control Matters , we explore the potential of AI tools to support education and professional dialogue in infection prevention and control. We used NotebookLM, an experimental tool from Google designed to help users interact with their documents in new ways—summarising, clarifying, and even generating structured discussions based on uploaded content. Using research and guidance documents, we demonstrate how NotebookLM can be used to create a voice-generated conversati...
Apr 16, 2025•15 min•Season 4Ep. 156
In this episode of Infection Control Matters , Martin Kiernan speaks with Dr. Nicole Stoesser about a large-scale, multi-centre study exploring the role of hospital sink infrastructure in antimicrobial resistance and pathogen dissemination. Representing the collaborative NITCAR-led "Sinkbug Consortium" we discuss surprising findings from 29 UK hospitals—including widespread antibiotic residues in sink traps—and reflect on the implications for sink design, waste disposal practices, and infection ...
Apr 02, 2025•30 min•Season 4Ep. 155
In this episode, Brett and Martin chat with Dr. Jessica Schults and Dr. Sally Havers about a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control . The study used a modified Delphi process to identify key healthcare infection surveillance priorities in Queensland. Through a two-round methodology, infection prevention experts identified 13 key infection measures for a standardized minimum dataset. This dataset aims to improve statewide HAI surveillance, enhance data consistency, an...
Mar 19, 2025•38 min•Season 4Ep. 154
In this episode, Phil and Martin talk to Dr Aline Wolfensberger, Senior Attending Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology at University Hospital Zurich and a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Implementation Science in Health Care at the Univetsity of Zurich. We discuss a recent paper that has analysed a range of algorithms for detecting non-ventilator associated pneumonia (nvHAP) that have the potential for significantly reducing the surveillance burden. This ...
Mar 05, 2025•30 min•Season 4Ep. 153
In this episode Martin Talks to Silvana Gastaldi who is a infection prevention and control health referent at UK-MED (a frontline humanitarian medical NGO). We discuss her revent paper in the Journal of Hospital Infection that reviews the literature on methods of assessing how effective environmental cleaning services and procedures are, including ATP, fluorescent UV marking, visual and microbiological methods and also discuss the potential for AI to assist in the healthcare environmental decont...
Feb 19, 2025•26 min•Ep. 152
In this episode, Phil Russo talks to Brett Mitchell and Kate Browne about a study that did not make it over the line. Following a systematic review in 2021 that examined the issue of UTIs in those who self catheterise, a study to examine whether previous work demonstrating a reduction in CAUTI in indwelling catheters through the use of Chlorhexidine for meatal cleansing would be effective was designed. The team discuss the complexities of getting what was essentially a community-based study over...
Feb 05, 2025•31 min•Season 4Ep. 151
In this episode Brett and Phil chat about a few of the posters presented at the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control 2024 Conference held in Melbourne in November 2024. Poster topics include hand hygiene, surveillance, and a pilot RCT on chlorhexidine impregnated dressings. You can access poster abstracts below and a pdf of the posters here Improving Hand Hygiene Practices in the Marshall Islands Epidemiology of Hospital-acquired Bloodstream Infections at a Quaternary Hospit...
Jan 22, 2025•18 min•Ep. 150
In this episode recorded at the 2024 Australasian College of Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) Conference in Melbourne, Brett and Phil talk to Dr Sarah Browning (ID Physician at Hunter New England) and two Junior Medical Officers (JMOs) Sam and Lochlan who worked on IPC-related projects whilst on placement.
Jan 08, 2025•18 min•Season 4Ep. 149
In this episode, Brett, Phil and Martin reflect on the year. We chat about favourite podcasts, papers and conferences in our usual informal manner (well probably even more informal than normal). Papers we mention are listed below. Cimen C, Bathoorn E, Loeve AJ, Fliss M, Berends MS, Nagengast WB, et al. Uncovering the spread of drug-resistant bacteria through next-generation sequencing based surveillance: transmission of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales by a contaminate...
Dec 19, 2024•46 min•Ep. 148
In this episode of ICMs we talk to the authors of a world first multi-centre double blind cross-over randomised control trial, which explored the effect of in-room air purification on acute respiratory tract infections. The rationale and pragmatics of undertaking such a trial are explored, as well as interpretation of the findings. The lead researcher, Bismi Thottiyil Sultanmuhammed Abdul, a PhD student at the University of Newcastle is joined by some of her supervisors Professors Jenny Sim and ...
Dec 04, 2024•32 min•Season 3Ep. 147
In this episode, Martin talks to Dr Rebecca Crapanzano-Sigafoos (formerly Bartles) who is Executive Director, Center for Research, Practoce and Innovation at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). We talk about about her work on staffing levels for IPC Teams, beginning with her early work looking at workload and then the recent review and paper on data obtained from the beta version of the APIC Staffing Calculator. It turns out that the vast majority of 3...
Nov 20, 2024•26 min•Ep. 146
In this episode, Martin talks to Cansu Cimen, a researcher at University Hospitals Groningen in the Netherlands, about a recent paper that documents an outbreak and in particular the critical role of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in tracking and controlling the transmission of MDROs via contaminated duodenoscopes. Focusing on an outbreak linked to ESBL-producing Citrobacter freundii and Klebsiella pneumoniae after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), standard culture methods...
Nov 08, 2024•21 min•Season 3Ep. 145
In this episode recorded live at the IPS Conference in Birmingham UK in September 2024, Martin talks to Claire Fitzsimons, Senior Infection Prevention and Control Practitioner at the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust. We discuss a poster that she presented at the conference that looked as ways of reducing glove use in the ambulance service through a range of improvement methodologies. A copy of the poster can be found here...
Oct 23, 2024•12 min•Ep. 144
In this episode, recorded at the 2024 Infection Prevention Society Conference in Birmingham (UK) Brett and Martin talk to Conor McGinn, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Trinity College Dublin and CEO of Akara AI, a robotics company spin-off from Trinity. We talk about a presentation that Conor gave, demonstrating how infrared sensors analysed by AI can provode feedback on techniques in the operating room and how they could improve cleaning stan...
Oct 09, 2024•13 min•Ep. 143
In our second live session at a major conference, this episode of Infection Control Matters was recorded live at a plenary session to close day 1 of the Infection Prevention Society conference (Birmingham, UK). Our guest panelists include Dr Berit Muller-Pebody an Epidemiologist from the UK Health Security Agency, Prof Jennie Wilson from the University of West London and Dr Jacqui Prieto from The University of Southampton. The panel also fielded many questions from delegates from the floor. Topi...
Sep 25, 2024•44 min•Season 3Ep. 142
Dr Gemma L Saravanos (she/her) is an infectious diseases epidemiologist and a Registered Nurse leading public health research, and education of pre-registration nursing students. She is based at the Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney and works across the Camperdown (Patyegarang) and Westmead (Baludarri) campuses in Sydney. In this episode, Phil chats to Gemma about an open access publication she led discussing IPC programs contribution to environmental harm, and ar...
Sep 18, 2024•13 min•Ep. 141
Our guest host, Dr Sally Havers this week talks to some of authors from ClEaning and Enhancd DisinfectioN (CLEEN) study (including some regular voices..). The study was recently published in the Lancet Infectious Disease (link below). The CLEEN study is a world first RCT that explores the impact of cleaning and disinfection of shared medical equipment on HAIs. The study reports significant reductions in HAIs associated with increased cleaning and disinfection of shared equipment. In this chat, t...
Sep 04, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 140
In this episode, Brett and Martin discuss a recent paper from Sarah Browning and colleagues that describes how an RCT on the ending of aspects of contact precautions (gloves and aprons) for MRSA and VRE could be conducted. The paper can be found here: https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(24)00243-X/abstract Our other podcasts on contact precautions, gloves and aprons can be found here: https://infectioncontrolmatters.podbean.com/e/have-gloves-had-their-day/ https:/...
Aug 29, 2024•26 min•Season 3Ep. 139
In this episode, Martin Kiernan catches up with Dr Gonzalo Bearman, Professor of Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA. We talk about the opportunities and dangers of using large language models like ChatGPT in the infecton prevention space. A link to a recent open access paper on this topic is here Langford BJ, Branch-Elliman W, Nori P, Marra AR, Bearman G. Confronting the Disruption of the Infectious Diseases Workforce by Artificial Intelligence: What This Means ...
Aug 07, 2024•17 min•Season 3Ep. 138
In this episode, Martin Kiernan talks to representatives of the Multi-disciplinary Team at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in the UK, Dr Jessica Martin IPC Matron Adele Dyche and Haematology Matron Katie Sweeting . Building on from previously published work, they describe how efforts from the front line can impact on water safety, including initiatives such as sink removal, education programmes and collaborative working. This work won the 2023 award for Infection Prevention and Control at the...
Jul 24, 2024•40 min•Ep. 137
In this episode, Brett and Martin report on a visit to the massive Interclean Expo held biannually in Amsterdam and the Healthcare Hygiene meeting. We report on the staggering range of equipment available and the fact that IPC often has little say in this especially if there are potential risks, referring to a previous podcast https://infectioncontrolmatters.podbean.com/e/investigating-a-unique-cpeoutbreak-a-possible-new-place-to-look/ Click here for a video of one hall at Interclean (of 12)....
Jul 10, 2024•15 min•Season 3Ep. 136
In this episode, Martin has been on the road again and talks to two poster presenters at the IPAC-Canada 2024 conference. In the first part, Martin talks to Margaret Cameron from Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Ontario about the use of the Multiple Mini Interviewing approach to the selection of suitable candidates to become part of the hospital Environmental Service Attendant team. This innovative approach uses scenarios to test a candidate's suitability for this important role. In the seco...
Jun 27, 2024•25 min•Season 3Ep. 135
This week we have a second batch of posters that we liked at ESCMID Global and will be talking about: VRE Surveillance using hospital waste water during an outbreak Assessing the Hawthorne effect: Implications and solutions The impact of an early Infectious Disease consultation for CLABSI: a single centre retrospective study Semi-continuous disinfection of sinks with UVC on a haematologydepartment for infection prevention Urinary tract microbiome of asymptomatic individuals with spinal cord inju...
Jun 12, 2024•28 min•Ep. 134
