Evonne T Curran
@evonnetcurran.bsky.social
Spent a career in IPC. Now just wanting IPC guidance to acknowledge the evident mode of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens - airborne. Without good guidance there is no person safety. Doctor of Nursing.
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Trustee | Reach Volunteering
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I promised I would updated the Source to Infection Pathway for all HAI - it is now as it will appear in the book chapter 2 Figure 2.1
What we actually want to know... If you don't know that's fine, say so, but stop with the prolonged, intense close contact scenarios.
Evonne T Curran@evonnetcurran.bsky.social · 7mo agoV4. So I deleted the numbers and dashed the box around "land on people and surfaces" as this is an interim step before contact or further airborne dispersal.
Still writing the book on IPC. Been through every single IPC guideline involving hands - I can find no evidence that handwashing / hand hygiene is the single most important way to prevent HAI. More soon.
@drtomlinsonep.bsky.social @evonnetcurran.bsky.social @safedavid3.bsky.social the linked job description is worth a gander. Concerning in this climate, IMO www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/blog/news/he...
Help Improve Infection Prevention in Scotland’s NHS - Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland
NHS National Services Scotland is looking for Lay Representatives to help with important work on Infection Prevention and Control, contributing patient and public-centred insights to support the devel...
alliance-scotland.org.uk
V4. So I deleted the numbers and dashed the box around "land on people and surfaces" as this is an interim step before contact or further airborne dispersal.
Very important study and more evidence that #NeuroCovid can contribute to neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment. When they say 'it's all in your head', they might be trying to be dismissive, but are accidentally being very realistic. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #LongCovid #COVID
There was a mis-coloured 'n' apologies. Still calling this v3
Version 3 minor alterations to the last contact box.
The large majority of COVID deaths are attributable to specific clear instances of negligence on the part of medical leaders, made directly against the advice of the world's top scientific experts, and on the basis of an understanding of science that was out of date by nearly a century.
Esther@elhopkins.bsky.social · 7mo agoI would argue that all covid deaths up until this point could have been prevented. That figure is over 250k. The single most important fact is covid is airborne!
So this is a test 1 for the book... Firstly, not 'single rooms' but 'isolation rooms'. [would love to specify air quality but that is anon]. I think, repeat think, I have got who needs an Isolation Room to an algorithm of 4 questions... I'll take comments.
Sky News reporting Nottingham Hospitals reporting "critical incidents" Suggest: Need to reduce community infections to reduce demand Need to reduce staff sickness to staff wards Need to reduce HAI to reduce length of stay Need "increased winter capacity" as "winter deficiencies" are not working.
It boggles my mind that in 2026 people are still getting hospital acquired Covid. They’re still having to choose between care and Covid. They’re still having to risk their health to access medical care. We can do better than this. Clean air and respirators save lives!
Grade school health classes should spend more time talking about toilet plumes... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Evonne T Curran@evonnetcurran.bsky.social · 7mo agoPatients with gastrointestinal infections - don't forget the sniff swallow for transmission
Patients with gastrointestinal infections - don't forget the sniff swallow for transmission
People continue to be hospitalised and or worse and face further disability because of vaccine restrictions. This lacks empathy from our government. Please support.
Clinically Vulnerable Families 💙💜💗@cvcev.bsky.social · 7mo agoIt turns out that just one BIG share can change *everything* for a petition. Please help protect vaccine access for Clinically Vulnerable people by tagging people who could amplify. - ONLY 6 WEEKS LEFT! - petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
I think we should change "Standard Precautions" to Never Event Infection Prevention, preventing all blood borne virus transmission & transmission from already infected people & the environment (water/air) Reasonable - not yet achievable but don't be scared to reach for excellence.
Made 1 change moved no 6 transplant / transfusion to be directly from people. to make more sense.
Just a single slide showing every way any pathogen can transmit and infect in a healthcare environment... One word descriptors wont do...
5. After a bit of digging, I managed to identify what seemed to be the source of the zombie stat. ...via this press release: www.newswise.com/articles/nee... ...I zeroed in on this grant application call: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
![Screenshot of my tweets:
I think I'm getting closer. I found another reference to the NIH announcement in 1999: a Science article (by Greenberg et al.) "comes in the wake of the NIH announcement to make biofilm research a priority." [link to newswise press release]
...which leads to this document: [NIH grant application call]
...which makes this (unreferenced statement):
"Biofilms are medically important, accounting for over 80 percent of microbial infections in the body."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:idf6m3amxguxiftesf7y24hd/bafkreihxtb6scnlxbjp25ujlf22mhc4lmxrje2kt6rublnugnxnps6vbbi)
A thread. 🧵 1. First of all, what is a "zombie stat"? you may ask. Well, it's a statistic or factoid that persists in the literature despite, and possibly even because of, there being no obvious original source of its existence.
Lucibee@lucibee.bsky.social · 9mo agoThis is really neat! Today happened to be the day I fell down a bacterial biofilms rabbit hole, while chasing a "zombie stat"... (as you do).
What Martin said. Independent SAGE were not cranks, not extremists, not over-reacting. #covidinquiry
Martin McKee@martinmckee.bsky.social · 9mo ago1/ How does the COVID Inquiry's Module 2 report align with what we said in @independentsage.bsky.social at the time? A 🧵on Transparency, Early & Decisive Action, Scientific Advice, Integration of Social & Economic Harms, Communication and Behavioural Science, Governance, Data and Preparedness
Our paper, that we worked hard to produce before the second wave, estimated that 21,000 excess deaths were caused by the 1 week delay in lockdown. The paper was held up & eventually rejected by the Lancet. By the time it came out it could only offer a post mortem. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Estimating the effects of lockdown timing on COVID-19 cases and deaths in England: A counterfactual modelling study
Background During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Kingdom experienced one of the highest per-capita death tolls worldwide. It is debated whether this may partly be explained by the...
journals.plos.org
Peter Stefanovic@peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 9mo agoBoris Johnson’s lack of leadership over the seriousness of Covid led to the first lockdown being introduced too late, which contributed to the loss of 23,000 lives, the official inquiry into his handling of the pandemic has concluded inews.co.uk/news/politic...
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.” www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
huffpost.com
Our latest blog by @evonnetcurran.bsky.social has just gone live: shh-uk.org/in-pursuit-o.... In the blog she reflects how infection prevention & control guidelines have been used & how IPC professionals need to become experts in error, prevention, detection and correction. Part 2 on Weds.
In Pursuit Of Truth IPC Needs To Become Experts In Error Prevention, Detection And Correction (Part 1)
In Evonne T Curran's latest two part blog she reflects on her life working in infection prevention and control (IPC) and how guidelines have been used and how
shh-uk.org
So hand hygiene cannot be no 1, can we now have a chat about all modes of transmission ? shh-uk.org/hand-hygiene...
Hand Hygiene: Not The #1 Prevention For Healthcare Infections
Evidence shows hand hygiene is vital but not the top factor in preventing healthcare-associated infections.
shh-uk.org
When you accept bad things as normal and irreducible, you fail to achieve brilliance.
Celeste Headlee@celesteheadlee.bsky.social · 11mo agoThe capital of Finland hasn't had a traffic death in a full year. Lower speed limits, plentiful speed cameras, 1,500+ km of bike lanes, infrastructure for pedestrians, and a new tram line. When you prioritize people and not vehicles, you can save lives while protecting the environment.
Taking the data from a systematic review and using a Pareto. It can be seen preventing Bloodstream infections is C. auris control. I see not national/international guideline that includes preventing BSI. Secondly it is also airborne distributed and we are not recommending air cleaning either...
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control@ecdc.europa.eu · 11mo ago#JustPublished! Drug-resistant fungus #CandidozymaAuris is spreading rapidly in European hospitals. #ECDC calls for urgent action. 📈 Cases are rising, outbreaks are larger, and several countries now report local transmission. Press release: bit.ly/46uR1iK #CandidaAuris #HAI #IDsky #EpiSky #AMR