Infection Control Matters

The tables are turned in this episode. Prof Trisha Peel and Dr Sally Havers guest host this podcast and interview Brett Mitchell, Nicole White and Martin Kiernan about their recent publication in Lancet Infectious Disease . The publication showcases results from a recent multi-centre RCT demonstrating the benefit of improving oral care in reducing the risk of non-ventilator associated pneumonia (N...

In the second ESCMID Global 2026 poster tour episode, Brett and Martin found three different and thought-provoking posters that highlight the importance of people, partnerships and communication in advancing infection prevention and control. We begin by talking to Dr Aline Wolfensberger from Zurich about a Swiss project that used human-centred design and co-production to develop practical tools th...

In the first of two special episodes recorded live from the poster hall at ESCMID Global 2026 in Munich, Brett and Martin swap the lecture theatre for the exhibition floor as they explore some of the most interesting infection prevention and antimicrobial resistance research on display. In this episode we discuss the following posters. Links to copies of the posters are provided. The hidden cost o...

In this episode, Brett and Martin talked to Dr Nico Tom Mutters about the papers he selected in the always popular 'Year in Infection Control' session at ESCMID Global 2026. Nico is Director of the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health at Bonn University Hospital and also Chair of EUCIC (European Committee on Infection Control). It is always fascinating to see which papers are selected in these...

In this episode, Brett and Martin reflect on the IPC components a major conference. Recorded after our visit to ESCMID Global 2026 held in Munich, Germany in April, this episode brings together key insights and conversations from across the first three days of the meeting. We reflect on emerging evidence, practical challenges, and the real-world implications for infection prevention and control, w...

In this episode, recorded live from Interclean in Amsterdam, Brett and Martin highlight the contibution of Clean Hospitals to healthcare hygiene and reflect on the contrast between healthcare cleaning and the wider cleaning industry. While the scale, innovation, and investment in cleaning technology are impressive, much of it is not designed with healthcare realities in mind. We discuss why cleani...

How well do we really measure bloodstream infections and could it be routinely automated? In this episode, Brett and Martin look at two papers on automated hospital-onset bacteraemia (HOB) surveillance, one a retrospective review in a single hospital in Berlin (Rüther et al) and a national UK study (Cregan, Oxford and UKHSA) exploring whether surveillance could move from local, manual processes to...

In this episode, Martin and Brett talk about what is a high risk and what is a high touch surface. Are they the same? The discussion is based on the following paper:   Zheng et al (2025). “High-touch” surfaces are not always “high-risk” surfaces in ICU environment. Journal of hospital infection.  https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(26)00079-4/fulltext

Back in July 2022 when the world was opening up again Brett, Phil and Martin were all in Melbourne and met up for a chat. The topic was 'Are we experts', however due to incompetence (Martin) the recording was terrible and his rather poor editing skills (learnt entirely by watching YouTube videos from Mike Russell) didn't help much. Now however by using Adobe AI voice enhancement it has been possib...

In this podcast, Phil and Brett speak with Dr Lyn-Li Lim from VICNISS (Victorian Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance System)in Australia. Dr Lim and colleagues recently explored the infection prevention and control resourcing levels in 113 facilities, including FTE per 100 beds. This podcast explores the differences in resourcing for different categories of hospitals.   A link to the publ...

In this episode, Martin Kiernan talks to Dr Sarah Fieldhouse, Associate Professor of Forensic Science and Dr Emmanuel Babafemi, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences both of the University of Staffordshire, UK. We discuss a recent paper looking at hospital cleanliness. Using forensic light, the study uncovered invisible contamination on surfaces that looked clean to the naked eye. We discuss what...

In this episode, Martin talks to Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope and colleagues at the UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) about the 2025 ESPAUR report, focusing on what the latest data mean for clinicians, infection prevention teams, and health system leaders. We explore what the latest data reveal about antimicrobial resistance and prescribing trends in England, including changes in resistance patterns am...

This is our traditional end of year Christmas special. In this episode we consider highlights from year and have a bit of fun - including a stakeout in London. We talk about our views on the most significant systematic review, our favourite presentation/poster, RCTs would like to see and predictions for 2026.

In this episode, Martin talks to Dr Jon Otter, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, UK. We examine two complementary pieces of work that provide further insight into Candidozyma auris transmission in acute hospitals. The first demonstrates, for the first time in the UK, that ward-level wastewater reliably mirrors patient colonisation and can reve...

In this episode, Martin speaks with Helen Dunn, Consultant Nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital, a Children's Hospital in London, UK. Helen is the lead author of a recent study published in the Journal of Infection Prevention, exploring whether structured ward rounds can be used as an innovative method for delivering Infection Prevention and Control education directly in the clinical environment....

In this episode, Martin spoke to the authors of two compelling posters showcased at the 2025 Infection Prevention Society Conference in Brighton, each discussing practical, data-driven approaches to reducing avoidable harm. Download the posters and have a listen to two authors with a passion for their projects. First, Catherine Lemsalu, a Dental Nurse from the IPC Team at University Hospital Plymo...

In this episode, Brett and Martin discuss a few posters that interested them from recent major infection prevention conferences. Brett was at the ICPIC Conference in Geneva and found plenty of interest in the Innovation academy.  Tracing hand pathogen transmission with and without hand hygiene with a newly developed DNA-encapsulating Lipid Nanoparticle system  Innovative FFP2 procedural mask for s...

In this episode, Martin Kiernan hosts a panel discussion at the 2026 Infection Prevention Society Conference in Brighton, United Kingdom. The Panel comprised: Dr Stephane Bouchoucha, Associate Professor in Nursing and Associate Head of School (International) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University in Melbourne, New South Wales Australia. Stephane is the current President of the...

In this podcast, Brett and Phil have a chat with Professor David Weber on the sidelines of the ICPIC conference in Geneva. We chat about the funding cuts for the WHO and the US CDC, including the disbandment of HICPAC - and what this means for IPC. We discuss what is being done and what needs to happen to fill the void and to ensure contemporary IPC evidence and guidelines are available.   Prof We...

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 time...

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,...

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, Tavaddo...

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 Unive...

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 C...

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 .