A Year in Print: Reviewing Infection Control Today’s Print Magazine and A Look to Its 30th Year!
Look back with ICT at their print issues and look ahead at what ICT's 30th year will hold!
This year, Infection Control Today® (ICT®) published 6 print issues, featuring research, debates, and frontline perspectives that are shaping the rapidly changing landscape of infection prevention. Each issue explored a key aspect of modern infection prevention and control practice, providing readers with expert insights, practical tools, and discussions that advanced the profession.
Here’s a look back at the themes that defined each edition and why these issues continue to resonate across health care settings.
Glove Usage Guideline: The Joint Commission, CDC, and World Health Organization
The January/February 2025 issue of ICT brings together essential topics shaping modern infection prevention. Robbie Hilliard, MSN, RN, CIC, explores antibiotic stewardship in long-term care, emphasizing the importance of McGeer and Loeb criteria in guiding safe, appropriate prescribing. Eliza Johnson, BS, CRCST, addresses the unique challenges of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and highlights strict reprocessing and disposal requirements for surgical instruments. Heather Stoltzfus, MSN, RN, CIC, narrates how pathogens travel through everyday lapses in hygiene, while Rebecca Leach, MPH, BSN, RN, CIC, examines the growing impact of climate-driven vector-borne diseases. Rounding out the issue, Isis Lamphier, MPH, MHA, CIC, AL-CIP, provides practical guidance on glove use aligned with The Joint Commission, CDC, and World Health Organization standards.
Guardians of Animal Health: Who Are Veterinary Infection Preventionists?
The March-April 2025 issue of ICT highlights the expanding scope of infection prevention across clinical, environmental, surgical, and even veterinary settings. ICT opens with a framework that redefines environmental disinfection across 5 critical moments, extending beyond hand hygiene. Sterile processing leaders examine the hidden danger of endotoxins and their role in postoperative sepsis. Tommy Davis, PhD, MMin, CMIP, CEPHP, LSSGB, BLS, underscores the lifesaving impact of robust environmental services (EVS) training, while Shannon Simmons explores surgical site (SSI) infection risks in the rapidly growing ambulatory surgery sector. Additional features address dialysis-related infections, veterinary infection-prevention challenges, and Kevin Kavanagh, MD’s urgent warning about the escalating H5N1 avian flu threat.
Spring Into Safety: How Seasonal Deep Cleaning Strengthens Hospital Infection Control
The May–June 2025 issue of ICT spotlights the core systems and small details that sustain safe patient care. Shahbaz Salehi, MD, MPH, MSHIA, compares steam, ethylene oxide, and hydrogen peroxide plasma sterilization, emphasizing how selecting the right modality prevents dangerous failures. Kerri Simone, MPH, CIC, and colleagues share creative, data-driven strategies that doubled hand hygiene adherence. Tommy Davis, PhD, MMin, CMIP, CEPHP, LSSGB, BLS, explores the impact of seasonal deep cleaning as a hospital-wide infection control accelerator. Additional features include June’s “Bug of the Month,” the article by Sherrie Busby, EDDA, CDSO, CDIPC, in her new dental safety column on suction backflow risks, and insights from AAMI TIR17:2024 on material compatibility in sterilization practices.
Candida auris: Truth, Myths, and the Battle for Clean
The September–October 2025 issue of ICT centers on one of today’s most persistent and complex infection threats: Candida auris. Features examine the organism from multiple angles, including the deep dive by Caitlin Stowe, MPH, CPH, CPHQ, CIC, VA-BC; and David Levine, PhD, DPT, MPH, FAPTA, into disinfection challenges and chemical trade-offs, and the article by Fibi Attia, MDE, MPH, CIC, that is a myth-busting, evidence-based guidance to stop transmission. The issue also highlights the critical role of sterile processing through the article Hannah Schroeder, BSHA, CRCST, CHL, CIS, CER, wrote, “Day in the Life” of an SPD technician, reinforcing the human expertise behind safe instrument reprocessing. Rounding out the edition, Isis Lamphier, MPH, MHA, CIC, AL-CIP, addresses the ongoing dangers of COVID-19 misinformation and its impact on public health and infection prevention practices.
The Dirty Truth About Stethoscopes: Why This Everyday Tool Deserves Infection-Control Attention
The November-December 2025 issue of ICT blends engagement, fundamentals, and overlooked risks across care settings. ICT’s Environmental Services Crossword invites EVS professionals and infection preventionists to test their technical knowledge of disinfection science and cleaning validation. ICT returns to core infection prevention and control principles, arguing that mastering the basics remains the smartest defense in an era of complexity. She also examines the underappreciated infection risks posed by stethoscopes, a ubiquitous clinical tool. Rebecca Leach, MPH, BSN, RN, CIC, extends the conversation beyond hospitals, spotlighting infection prevention gaps in dental and oral surgery clinics and the urgent need for stronger SSI surveillance and sterilization practices.
Unmasking VIM Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Threats in Critical Care
The July–August 2025 issue of ICT blends inspiration, innovation, and urgent pathogen awareness. Heather Stoltzfus, MPH, RN, CIC, opens with an uplifting reminder of the influence infection preventionists hold as culture-shapers, not just adherence monitors. Anthony Onunga, MBChB, follows with a high-stakes look at VIM-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its growing foothold in critical care environments. Eliza Johnson, BS, CRCST, warns that innovation must be matched by rigorous regulatory oversight. The issue also debuts ICT’s IPC Crossword Challenge and features ICT’s coverage of the Lumens 2.0 study, which reveals hidden contamination in lumened surgical instruments.
In 2025, Infection Control Today delivered 6 dynamic print issues that captured the full scope of modern infection prevention, from environmental hygiene and sterile processing to diagnostics, emerging pathogens, workforce resilience, and leadership in uncertain times. Each edition reflected the expertise, dedication, and innovation driving the profession forward.
As ICT proudly enters its 30th year in 2026, we will celebrate 3 decades of amplifying science, elevating frontline voices, and advancing patient safety. We look into genomics, with more on UVC, veterinary and dental infection prevention, and a return to the basics of IPC. The future of infection prevention is complex, evolving, and more essential than ever, and ICT is honored to continue leading the conversation.
