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Assessing the impact of a cleaning programme on environmental hygiene in labour and neonatal wards: an exploratory study in The Gambia (2024)
Journal Article
Okomo, U., Gon, G., Darboe, S., Sey, I. C. M., Nkereuwem, O., Leigh, L., Camara, N., Makalo, L., Keita, A., Dancer, S. J., Graham, W., & Aiken, A. M. (2024). Assessing the impact of a cleaning programme on environmental hygiene in labour and neonatal wards: an exploratory study in The Gambia. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, 13(1), Article 36. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-024-01393-6

Background: Effective surface cleaning in hospitals is crucial to prevent the transmission of pathogens. However, hospitals in low- and middle-income countries face cleaning challenges due to limited resources and inadequate training. Methods: We ass... Read More about Assessing the impact of a cleaning programme on environmental hygiene in labour and neonatal wards: an exploratory study in The Gambia.

Mandating indoor air quality for public buildings (2024)
Journal Article
Morawska, L., Allen, J., Bahnfleth, W., Bennett, B., Bluyssen, P. M., Boerstra, A., Buonanno, G., Cao, J., Dancer, S. J., Floto, A., Franchimon, F., Greenhalgh, T., Haworth, C., Hogeling, J., Isaxon, C., Jimenez, J. L., Kennedy, A., Kumar, P., Kurnitski, J., Li, Y., …Yao, M. (2024). Mandating indoor air quality for public buildings. Science, 383(6690), 1418-1420. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adl0677

People living in urban and industrialized societies, which are expanding globally, spend more than 90% of their time in the indoor environment, breathing indoor air (IA). Despite decades of research and advocacy, most countries do not have legislated... Read More about Mandating indoor air quality for public buildings.

Hospital cleaning: past, present, and future (2023)
Journal Article
Dancer, S. J. (2023). Hospital cleaning: past, present, and future. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, 12(1), Article 80. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-023-01275-3

Introduction: The importance of hospital cleaning for controlling healthcare-associated infection (HAI) has taken years to acknowledge. This is mainly because the removal of dirt is inextricably entwined with gender and social status, along with lack... Read More about Hospital cleaning: past, present, and future.

COVID-19 and Airborne Transmission: Science Rejected, Lives Lost. Can Society Do Better? (2023)
Journal Article
Morawska, L., Bahnfleth, W., Bluyssen, P. M., Boerstra, A., Buonanno, G., Dancer, S. J., Floto, A., Franchimon, F., Haworth, C., Hogeling, J., Isaxon, C., Jimenez, J. L., Kurnitski, J., Li, Y., Loomans, M., Marks, G., Marr, L. C., Mazzarella, L., Melikov, A. K., Miller, S., …Wierzbicka, A. (2023). COVID-19 and Airborne Transmission: Science Rejected, Lives Lost. Can Society Do Better?. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 76(10), 1854-1859. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad068

This is an account that should be heard of an important struggle: the struggle of a large group of experts who came together at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to warn the world about the risk of airborne transmission and the consequences of i... Read More about COVID-19 and Airborne Transmission: Science Rejected, Lives Lost. Can Society Do Better?.

Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 in air and on surfaces in Scottish hospitals (2022)
Journal Article
Loh, M., Yaxley, N., Moore, G., Holmes, D., Todd, S., Smith, A., …Cherrie, J. W. (2023). Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 in air and on surfaces in Scottish hospitals. Journal of Hospital Infection, 133, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2022.11.019

Background
There are still uncertainties in our knowledge of the amount of SARS-CoV-2 virus present in the environment; where it can be found, and potential exposure determinants, limiting our ability to effectively model and compare interventions f... Read More about Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 in air and on surfaces in Scottish hospitals.

Insights into the Spectrum of Activity and Mechanism of Action of MGB-BP-3 (2022)
Journal Article
Hind, C., Clifford, M., Woolley, C., Harmer, J., McGee, L. M., Tyson-Hirst, I., Tait, H. J., Brooke, D. P., Dancer, S. J., Hunter, I. S., Suckling, C. J., Beveridge, R., Parkinson, J. A., Sutton, J. M., & Scott, F. J. (2022). Insights into the Spectrum of Activity and Mechanism of Action of MGB-BP-3. ACS Infectious Diseases, 8(12), 2552-2563. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00445

MGB-BP-3 is a potential first-in-class antibiotic, a Strathclyde Minor Groove Binder (S-MGB), that has successfully completed Phase IIa clinical trials for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile associated disease. Its precise mechanism of action... Read More about Insights into the Spectrum of Activity and Mechanism of Action of MGB-BP-3.

What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID‐19 pandemic? (2022)
Journal Article
Jimenez, J. L., Marr, L. C., Randall, K., Ewing, E. T., Tufekci, Z., Greenhalgh, T., Tellier, R., Tang, J. W., Li, Y., Morawska, L., Mesiano‐Crookston, J., Fisman, D., Hegarty, O., Dancer, S. J., Bluyssen, P. M., Buonanno, G., Loomans, M. G. L. C., Bahnfleth, W. P., Yao, M., Sekhar, C., …Prather, K. A. (2022). What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID‐19 pandemic?. Indoor Air, 32(8), Article e13070. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.13070

The question of whether SARS‐CoV‐2 is mainly transmitted by droplets or aerosols has been highly controversial. We sought to explain this controversy through a historical analysis of transmission research in other diseases. For most of human history,... Read More about What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID‐19 pandemic?.

Ethanol is indispensable for virucidal hand antisepsis: memorandum from the alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) Task Force, WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, and the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention (KRINKO), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (2022)
Journal Article
Kramer, A., Arvand, M., Christiansen, B., Dancer, S., Eggers, M., Exner, M., Müller, D., Mutters, N. T., Schwebke, I., & Pittet, D. (2022). Ethanol is indispensable for virucidal hand antisepsis: memorandum from the alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) Task Force, WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, and the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention (KRINKO), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control, 11(1), Article 93. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-022-01134-7

Background: The approval of ethanol by the Biocidal Products Regulation has been under evaluation since 2007. This follows concern over alcohol uptake from ethanol-based hand rubs (EBHR). If ethanol is classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprot... Read More about Ethanol is indispensable for virucidal hand antisepsis: memorandum from the alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) Task Force, WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, and the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention (KRINKO), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.

A Better Disinfectant for Low-Resourced Hospitals? A Multi-Period Cluster Randomised Trial Comparing Hypochlorous Acid with Sodium Hypochlorite in Nigerian Hospitals: The EWASH Trial (2022)
Journal Article
Gon, G., Dansero, L., Aiken, A. M., Bottomley, C., Dancer, S. J., Graham, W. J., Ike, O. C., Lewis, M., Meakin, N., Okafor, O., Uwaezuoke, N. S., & Okwor, T. J. (2022). A Better Disinfectant for Low-Resourced Hospitals? A Multi-Period Cluster Randomised Trial Comparing Hypochlorous Acid with Sodium Hypochlorite in Nigerian Hospitals: The EWASH Trial. Microorganisms, 10(5), Article 910. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10050910

Environmental hygiene in hospitals is a major challenge worldwide. Low-resourced hospitals in African countries continue to rely on sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as major disinfectant. However, NaOCl has several limitations such as the need for daily d... Read More about A Better Disinfectant for Low-Resourced Hospitals? A Multi-Period Cluster Randomised Trial Comparing Hypochlorous Acid with Sodium Hypochlorite in Nigerian Hospitals: The EWASH Trial.

Safe design and maintenance of bone marrow transplant units: a narrative review (2022)
Journal Article
Inkster, T., Peters, C., & Dancer, S. (2022). Safe design and maintenance of bone marrow transplant units: a narrative review. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 28(8), 1091-1096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2022.03.032

Background
Patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation or chemotherapy for cancer are profoundly immunosuppressed. They are at risk for both endogenous and exogenous infections and require enhanced protection from infection while in hospital.
O... Read More about Safe design and maintenance of bone marrow transplant units: a narrative review.

Practical Indicators for Risk of Airborne Transmission in Shared Indoor Environments and Their Application to COVID-19 Outbreaks (2022)
Journal Article
Peng, Z., Rojas, A. P., Kropff, E., Bahnfleth, W., Buonanno, G., Dancer, S., Kurnitski, J., Li, Y., Loomans, M., Marr, L., Morawska, L., Nazaroff, W., Noakes, C., Querol, X., Sekhar, C., Tellier, R., Greenhalgh, T., Bourouiba, L., Boerstra, A., Tang, J., …Jimenez, J. (2022). Practical Indicators for Risk of Airborne Transmission in Shared Indoor Environments and Their Application to COVID-19 Outbreaks. Environmental Science and Technology, 56(2), 1125-1137. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c06531

Some infectious diseases, including COVID-19, can undergo airborne transmission. This may happen at close proximity, but as time indoors increases, infections can occur in shared room air despite distancing. We propose two indicators of infection ris... Read More about Practical Indicators for Risk of Airborne Transmission in Shared Indoor Environments and Their Application to COVID-19 Outbreaks.

Probabilistic microsimulation to examine the cost-effectiveness of hospital admission screening strategies for carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in the United Kingdom (2021)
Journal Article
Manoukian, S., Stewart, S., Dancer, S. J., Mason, H., Graves, N., Robertson, C., Leonard, A., Kennedy, S., Kavanagh, K., Parcell, B., & Reilly, J. (2022). Probabilistic microsimulation to examine the cost-effectiveness of hospital admission screening strategies for carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in the United Kingdom. European Journal of Health Economics, 23(7), 1173-1185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-021-01419-5

Background
Antimicrobial resistance has been recognised as a global threat with carbapenemase- producing-Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) as a prime example. CPE has similarities to COVID-19 where asymptomatic patients may be colonised representing a source... Read More about Probabilistic microsimulation to examine the cost-effectiveness of hospital admission screening strategies for carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in the United Kingdom.

Healthcare-acquired clusters of COVID-19 across multiple wards in a Scottish health board (2021)
Journal Article
Dancer, S., Cormack, K., Loh, M., Coulombe, C., Thomas, L., Pravinkumar, S., Kasengele, K., King, M., & Keaney, J. (2022). Healthcare-acquired clusters of COVID-19 across multiple wards in a Scottish health board. Journal of Hospital Infection, 120, 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.11.019

Background
Healthcare-acquired COVID-19 has been an additional burden on hospitals managing increasing numbers of patients with SARS-CoV-2. One acute hospital (W) among three in a Scottish healthboard experienced an unexpected surge of COVID-19 clus... Read More about Healthcare-acquired clusters of COVID-19 across multiple wards in a Scottish health board.

Modeling fomite‐mediated SARS‐CoV‐2 exposure through personal protective equipment doffing in a hospital environment (2021)
Journal Article
King, M., Wilson, A. M., Weir, M. H., López‐García, M., Proctor, J., Hiwar, W., Khan, A., Fletcher, L. A., Sleigh, P. A., Clifton, I., Dancer, S. J., Wilcox, M., Reynolds, K. A., & Noakes, C. J. (2022). Modeling fomite‐mediated SARS‐CoV‐2 exposure through personal protective equipment doffing in a hospital environment. Indoor Air, 32(1), Article e12938. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12938

Self-contamination during doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a concern for healthcare workers (HCW) following SARS-CoV-2-positive patient care. Staff may subconsciously become contaminated through improper glove removal; so, quantifyin... Read More about Modeling fomite‐mediated SARS‐CoV‐2 exposure through personal protective equipment doffing in a hospital environment.

Dirty QWERTY: there's no ESC! (2021)
Journal Article
Ledwoch, K., Dancer, S., Otter, J., & Maillard, J. (2021). Dirty QWERTY: there's no ESC!. Journal of Hospital Infection, 117, 184-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.08.002

We were delighted to see our study on hospital keyboards receiving interest from Prof. Vos' research group in their recent letter. Clearly, both our groups are passionate about infection prevention, and ways to improve the safety in hospitals in UK a... Read More about Dirty QWERTY: there's no ESC!.

Personalized infection prevention and control: dentifying patients at risk of healthcare-associated infection (2021)
Journal Article
Stewart, S., Robertson, C., Kennedy, S., Kavanagh, K., Haahr, L., Manoukian, S., Mason, H., Dancer, S., Cook, B., & Reilly, J. (2021). Personalized infection prevention and control: dentifying patients at risk of healthcare-associated infection. Journal of Hospital Infection, 114, 32-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.03.032

Background
Few healthcare-associated infection (HAI) studies focus on risk of HAI at the point of admission. Understanding this will enable planning and management of care with infection prevention at the heart of the patient journey from the point... Read More about Personalized infection prevention and control: dentifying patients at risk of healthcare-associated infection.