A large whooping cough (pertussis) outbreak has been ongoing in people California in 2010. This bacterial infection, caused by Bordetella pertussis, is a highly transmissible disease that can result in serious problems (including death) in young infants. At last report, there were over 6000 cases of whooping cough, making this the largest outbreak in
Biohazardous cell phones
It’s amazing how attached people are to their cell phones. Many people will answer them without any thought of what else is going on. It’s something I’ve seen in veterinary hospitals where wireless or cell phones are the primary mode of internal communication. The natural tendency to answer the phone often overrides the thought process
Infection control…how things have changed
Infection control is a constantly evolving and expanding area – for the good. Paying close attention to infection control in human hospitals is a relatively recent phenomenon, and the advances in infection control are now having an impact outside of hospitals. Pandemic H1N1 influenza drove a lot of changes, but there’s been a general increase
Live every day like you have MRSA
I was giving a talk on infection control at a conference in Geneva a couple of days ago, and during a discussion with someone after the talk, I told them to "Live every day like you have MRSA." Not surprisingly, I got a bit of a strange look in response. I wasn’t trying to
World Hand Hygiene Day
Today is World Hand Hygiene Day, an occasion being promoted by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands” campaign. This WHO initiative is aimed primarily at improving hand hygiene in healthcare facilities around the world, in order to help reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) (e.g. infections that people develop while
Fewer sinks in veterinary clinics??
Click here for a link to a presentation by an architect about veterinary clinic design. This video clearly shows why people that are designing clinics need to be thinking about infection control (and that some are clearly not doing so). This person talks about the trend towards not placing sinks in exam rooms. This
PInworms and pets
Pets as a source of pinworms in people (especially children) has been a widespread misconception. A recent article at www.medicalnewstoday.com gives a good overview of pinworms in people and has a nice section about pets.
"Pinworms that affect humans cannot infect animals or pets. However, some microscopic eggs may land on a pet’s fur
Preventing infections in the home
There is a nice, concise commentary in the most recent issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal about preventing infections in the home. It covers three important organisms: MRSA, Clostridium difficile and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). An excellent aspect of this particular commentary is its relatively low-key approach, with an emphasis on routine, basic practices such
E. coli O157 outbreak tentatively linked to livestock show
An outbreak of E. coli O157 – the particularly nasty strain of E. coli that can cause hemolytic uremia (a serious kidney disease) and death – has been identified in Colorado, and signs are pointing toward a livestock show as the source. So far, 20 people have been identified as infected, including 19 children.
Clean hands, a New Year’s Resolution
I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. I figure if it’s important and something I should do, why wait until January 1 to start? However, New Year’s resolutions can be a good way to get people thinking about ways to improve their health. NovaNewsNow.com has a good idea for a practical and useful resolution: