PODCAST · health
Infection Control Matters
by Brett Mitchell
In this podcast series, we discuss new research and issues on the topic of infection prevention and control. We talk to doctors, nurses, clinicians, academics and administrators. Professor Brett Mitchell (from Avondale University, Australia), Visiting Professor Martin Kiernan (University of West London and Avondale University) and Professor Philip Russo (Monash University) have considerable experience in infection prevention and control. In this series, we discuss topical issues, speak to authors of papers that catch our eye and occasionally produce special editions from conferences that we attend. We welcome feedback from listeners.
Episodes
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Cleaning is Patient Safety: Empowering the People Who Keep Hospitals Safe
In this episode, Martin Kiernan talks with Dr Alexandra Peters, President of Clean Hospitals, ahead of the annual Clean Hospitals Day on 20 October. They discuss this year’s theme of empowerment—why environmental services staff should be recognised as frontline healthcare workers, and why…
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Evidence or Efficiency? How We Make IPC Decisions
In this episode, Phil Russo and Brett Mitchell are joined by Dr Shalini Elangovan from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore to discuss her global study exploring how IPC professionals make decisions. Using a discrete choice experiment, Shalini and colleagues examined the trade-offs people make...
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RCTs in Infection Prevention and Control - Are we getting the evidence that we need?
In this episode of Infection Control Matters, Martin Kiernan talks to Brett Mitchell about a new review of RCTs in IPC over the past two decades. The review identified 239 trials, with a striking increase in recent years—but the research is concentrated in a relatively small number of areas. We...
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Who Do You Listen To? The Hidden Influencers of Hand Hygiene
In this episode, Brett and Martin discuss a cluster RCT from the Journal of Hospital Infection that took a very different approach. The researchers used social network analysis to identify the people operating room nurses naturally turned to for advice and support. Six of these informal…
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C. difficile: Follow the Faeces
In this episode of Infection Control Matters, Brett and Martin talk to Professor Tom Riley about why we need to look well beyond the hospital to understand where Clostridioides difficile comes from. Tom discusses the growing importance of C. difficile as a community-acquired infection and…
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WISDOM: Using AI to Prioritise Surgical Wound Review
Artificial intelligence has enormous potential in healthcare, but where can it genuinely improve infection prevention without replacing clinical judgement? In this episode, Phil Russo and Martin Kiernan are joined by Professor Judith Tanner (University of Nottingham) and Melissa Rochon (Guy's and...
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Candidozyma auris: Disinfection and the Biofilm Problem
Candidozyma auris has become one of the greatest environmental challenges facing infection prevention teams. Its ability to survive on surfaces, form resilient biofilms and spread within healthcare settings has raised important questions about whether our current cleaning and disinfection…
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Brush, Rinse, Prevent Pneumonia: The HAPPEN Trial Story
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...
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ESCMID Global 2026 Posters (Part 2): Patient Partnership, Communication and Collaboration
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…
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ESCMID Global 2026 – Selected Gems from the Poster Hall (Part 1)
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...
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Highlights from ESCMID 2026: Key Papers in Infection Control
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…
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ESCMID Global 2026: What Matters for Practice
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...
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Why Healthcare Cleaning Is Different: Reflections from Interclean 2026
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...
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Automated bloodstream infection surveillance - Measuring what matters?
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…
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Surfaces - High touch or high risk?
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....
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Do we feel that we are experts? Take two
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...
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Resourcing of hospital infection prevention and control programs
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...
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Hospital or Crime Scene? What Forensic Science Reveals About “Clean”
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...
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AMR at a National level - The 2025 ESPAUR Report
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...
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2025 Christmas Special
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...
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Unseen Reservoirs, Unseen Risks: Integrating Wastewater Surveillance with Patient-Level Insights into C. auris Spread
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...
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Can ward rounds transform IPC education?
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...
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Reducing harm at the Front Line: Oral Care driving down C. difficile and Line Care - the Power of Better Data
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...
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Posters from the 2025 Innovation Academy at ICPIC and from the UK IPS Conference
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…
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What Should Infection Prevention Teams Stop Doing? ICM Live at the 2026 IPS Brighton Conference
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...
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Cutting CDC and IPC funding in the US - Implications and what can we do?
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...
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Safeguarding During Transit: RAF Expertise in High Consequence Infectious Disease Retrieval
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…
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The no diaper (AKA nappy) zone - reducing CAUTI?
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…
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Can modelling tell us what factors influence CAUTI in long and short-term catheters?
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...
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Leading Public Health, ID and IPC during challenging times
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...
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What's new in Surgical Site Infection Prevention? Update from EUCIC
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...
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Posters from the Hong Kong Infection Control Nurses Association conference
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.
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The Plume Room - adventures in toilet hygiene
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…
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Automated national HCAI surveillance - potential or pipedream?
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...
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A re-introduction to Infection Control Matters 1500 days on
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…
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National vs local IPC Guidelines - Lost in Translation?
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…
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Candidozyma auris from the lab to the front line: A discussion with UKHSA experts
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…
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Use of AI to create a podcast discussion - are we out of a job?
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,...
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The Sinkbug Survey: Antibiotics, AMR, Chemicals and Plumbing
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...
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Surveillance for HCAI - What is important, feasible and useful - and what isn't..
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…
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nv-HAP surveillance too time-consuming? Semi-automated may be easier than you think
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...
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Methods of assessing effectiveness of hospital cleaning - a review and peek into the future?
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...
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Reducing CAUTI in intermittent self-catheterisation. The trial that didn't make it..
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...
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A poster walk at ACIPC 2024
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.…
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Engaging Junior Doctors in IPC
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...
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The 2024 End of Year Special
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…
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In-room air purification to prevent respiratory infection in aged care - Does it help?
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…
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Do you have enough staff in your IP Team? Calculating the staffing requirement for your program
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...
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Could you have an ERCP-related outbreak? Sequencing to the rescue but you'll have to trash the scope!
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...
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Reducing glove use in the ambulance service
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...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
In this podcast series, we discuss new research and issues on the topic of infection prevention and control. We talk to doctors, nurses, clinicians, academics and administrators. Professor Brett Mitchell (from Avondale University, Australia), Visiting Professor Martin Kiernan (University of West London and Avondale University) and Professor Philip Russo (Monash University) have considerable experience in infection prevention and control. In this series, we discuss topical issues, speak to authors of papers that catch our eye and occasionally produce special editions from conferences that we attend. We welcome feedback from listeners.
HOSTED BY
Brett Mitchell
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Infection Control Matters have?
Infection Control Matters currently has 193 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Infection Control Matters about?
In this podcast series, we discuss new research and issues on the topic of infection prevention and control. We talk to doctors, nurses, clinicians, academics and administrators. Professor Brett Mitchell (from Avondale University, Australia), Visiting Professor Martin Kiernan (University of West...
How often does Infection Control Matters release new episodes?
Infection Control Matters publishes regularly with 193 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Infection Control Matters?
You can listen to Infection Control Matters on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Infection Control Matters?
Infection Control Matters is created and hosted by Brett Mitchell.
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