Connie C. Chettle
MS, MPH, RN
Connie C. Chettle, MS, MPH, RN, is an epidemiologist and a frequent contributor to OnCourse Learning continuing education courses.
Courses Authored
The course will be discontinued on May 12, 2019. Please plan to finish the course by May 11th if you wish to earn credit for it.
During the mid-1990s, a more virulent and potentially lethal strain of MRSA emerged in the community among healthy people with no ties (direct or indirect) to healthcare. This new strain, named community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), was genetically distinct and unrelated to the MRSA strains most often found in hospitals. CA-MRSA carries a particularly aggressive, leukocyte-killing toxin that increases its ability to infect skin and soft tissues in otherwise healthy young people. It has caused numerous community outbreaks of aggressive skin and soft-tissue infections, including pustular lesions, furuncles (boils), carbuncles, abscesses and cellulitis. In addition to skin infections, CA-MRSA causes a severe necrotizing pneumonia that can kill within 24 hours of onset, as well as necrotizing fasciitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis and a rapidly fatal sepsis syndrome. Healthcare professionals in all settings need to know about this potentially deadly strain of MRSA so that they can be on the alert for signs and symptoms in their patients.
To inform healthcare professionals about the two most common fungi-caused invasive diseases in critically ill and immunosuppressed patients.
Information on herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections and the role of asymptomatic shedding in their transmission.
Provides education about food preparation, foods to avoid, and care for patients who have contracted a foodborne illness.
Cryptosporidium and Giardia are genera of fecally transmitted protozoan parasites that have been linked to outbreaks of GI illnesses from swimming pools and water parks. These common intestinal parasites can withstand chlorine disinfection for a considerable length of time. With Cryptosporidium, a single fecal accident can contaminate all the water in a pool and swallowing a few mouthfuls of water can result in an infection. With Giardia, swallowing as few as 10 cysts (the infectious form) can cause an infection. Fecal accidents are not uncommon in pools. Even in the absence of accidents, the unshowered swimmer may have up to 0.14 g of feces present on the perianal surface. This amount can climb as high as 10 g among young children. Healthcare professionals need to be informed about the parasites found swimming in public pools, signs and symptoms associated with them, treatments available and preventive measures.
Cats and dogs can transmit a wide variety of diseases to their owners, ranging from trivial infections to life-threatening diseases. In the U.S., casual contact and bites from pets cause millions of human infections. Bite wounds are common. About 4.5 million dog bites occur each year, and 20% of the people bitten will develop an infection. Bites from cats represent 10% of the approximately 5 million animal bites per year. This module provides nurses with information on pet-related diseases.
The course will be discontinued on August 8, 2019. Please plan to finish the course by August 7th if you wish to earn credit for it.
In the best of times, Haiti is overwhelmed with endemic infectious diseases. A massive earthquake hit in January 2010, causing extensive damage to the country's infrastructure and fragile health system. The risk of acquiring an infectious disease became even greater. The earthquake made it worse, and the potential for massive outbreaks of infectious disease was and remains enormous for the estimated 150,000 still displaced in temporary plastic and plywood shelters a number of years later. Healthcare providers must be knowledgeable about infectious diseases in Haiti and in any other location in which they provide emergency aid, and be aware of the protective measures to take before traveling.
This course describes common STDs and their treatment.
This module provides healthcare professionals with information on the rising incidence of three life-threatening endemic fungal diseases in the U.S.
This course reviews six common foodborne parasitic infections that healthcare providers may encounter with their patients.
Provides healthcare professionals information about Chagas disease, which is becoming more prevalent in the United States.
Acinetobacter baumannii is a common pathogen isolated in U.S. hospitals that is responsible for about 2% of hospital-acquired infections and as many as 7% of hospital-associated pneumonias. A. baumannii is a gram-negative, nonspore-forming, nonmotile, aerobic coccobacilli bacteria often found in healthcare environments. Acinetobacter is notable due to its ability to become resistant to antibiotics, and in fact, nearly two-thirds of Acinetobacter infections are caused by resistant strains. It is one of the hospital-acquired pathogens whose antibiotic resistance cannot be blamed on the community use of antibiotics or on the use of antibiotics in animals — it rests primarily on failures of hospital hygiene and the overuse of antibiotics in hospitals.
To provide nurses with information about necrotizing fasciitis and the pathogens associated with the disease.
Resistance to antibiotics has increased to such a level that it has become one of the greatest threats to human health. Carbapenem-resistant bacteria are associated with increased mortality and are difficult to treat. Because they have the potential to spread easily within healthcare facilities, preventing transmission is of greatest importance. This module discusses the new mechanisms bacteria have developed to resist beta-lactam antibiotics, the spread of resistance genes, the ramifications of carbapenem resistance for public health, and important strategies that can be used to prevent transmission of carbapenem-resistant bacteria.
Since 2000, the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has changed, with significant increases in incidence, severity, mortality rate, and treatment failures. Nonmaternal adult CDI hospitalizations increased from 7.4 per 1,000 in 2003 to 13.5 per 1,000 in 2012. The government expects that rate to continue growing about 2% per year. Infections in populations traditionally considered to be at low risk — peripartum women, children, and young healthy adults — have increased, and many infected patients lack the usual predisposing CDI risk factors, such as old age, recent hospital stays, and antibiotic exposure. This module discusses the risk factors associated with the emergence of CDI in the community, ways in which community-acquired CDIs are being transmitted, and the question of whether nursing homes and outpatient healthcare settings may be an underappreciated source of CDI cases.
Discusses the latest developments related to antibiotic resistance, the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and strategies for reducing resistance.
This module provides nurses, physicians, and respiratory therapists with the most current information on two enterovirus outbreaks, EV-D68 and EV71.
This module informs healthcare providers about the emergence of Zika virus both in the U.S. and internationally.
To provide information for the prompt identification and isolation of suspected MERS-CoV-infected patients and to prevent the spread of infection.
Tick populations are increasing in the United States and their geographic ranges are expanding, largely due to climate change. Since ticks are responsible for nearly 95% of annually reported vector-borne diseases, this increase represents a new and severe public health concern. In the U.S., ticks are responsible for transmitting a greater variety of viral, bacterial, and protozoan diseases than any other blood-feeding arthropod. In addition, in some people, tick bites can cause allergic reactions to red meat and possibly milk and other dairy products. This CE course presents information on eight of the most common tickborne illnesses.