According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2011 in the United States there were almost half a million Clostridium difficile infections, and one in 11 patients 65 or older with a healthcare-associated C. diff infection died within 30 days of diagnosis.

An influenza diagnosis for people 65 and older is serious. Up to 85 percent of influenza-related deaths occur in older adults, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention reports.

Discover what strains are prominent, how effective this year’s vaccine is, and how hard the virus has hit Tennessee so far.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is the first health system in the nation to receive the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Program of Distinction designation, an acknowledgement of excellence for infection prevention and control programs that meet stringent standards established by the association.

Diarrhea has many causes, and when there are prolonged or severe symptoms clinicians sometimes consider lab testing to help guide treatment. But sometimes they stray from published guidelines in the direction of overtesting.

Infectious disease experts are warning that flu can lead to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and disability in elderly patients for months after they have recovered from their illness.

When chronic disease patients let their care lapse and fail to show for clinic appointments, it may behoove clinics to reach out and encourage a return to care.