U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently announced that the department is making available another $75 million to states, territories, and four metropolitan areas to help strengthen their capacity to respond to a pandemic influenza outbreak.
A major part of the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act requires EPA to conduct research to improve how the nation protects recreational waters. Toward that end, the agency is currently piloting a new way of testing water quality that yields results in as little as three hours, a significant improvement over the current 24-hour method.
HOW do people get the avian flu? Avian influenza viruses circulate among birds worldwide. Susceptible birds can become infected with avian influenza virus when they have contact with contaminated nasal, respiratory, or fecal material from infected birds. They then shed the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces.
No single data system at present is sufficient to assess the workforce's injuries and illnesses, but integrating existing systems will suffice, an expert panel decided.
Scientists at Ohio State University (OSU) recently announced that they have designed a new, interactive map that displays the spread of the avian flu virus (H5N1) that for the first time incorporates genetic, geographic, and evolutionary information that may help predict where the next outbreak of the virus is likely to occur. The map's creation coincides with the publication of a study titled "Genomic Analysis and Geographic Visualization of the Spread of Avian Influenza (H5N1)" which appears online in the April issue of Systematic Biology.
Posted on March 21 at http://pandemicflu.gov is a five-page Health Insurer Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist that will be of use to other types of organizations, too, as they work on preparedness.
IF you have not heard of MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) yet, you will very soon. MRSA (it is generally verbalized as mersa) used to be found only in hospitals.
Under Pressure
LIGHTNING-FAST, acutely accurate assessment under pressure and with little information is a matter of course, as is providing consistent, standardized response to life-threatening emergencies--the framework of a first responder's actions. Does it sound easy? These personnel have to project calm reassurance to the victims, no matter what is happening at that moment and, all the while, they're busy saving someone's life.
MOSQUITOES suck. In the process, they inject a chemical that inhibits the body's ability to stop any bleeding that might begin. This chemical is mixed with the mosquito's saliva and, depending on whom or what the mosquito visited before you, other things can be mixed in, too. At best, a sated mosquito will leave you minus a few micrograms of blood and with perhaps a temporary itch. At worst, it will leave you dead within weeks.
WHAT exactly is "OSHA First Aid," and what do you need to do to comply with regulations for your industry?
IN the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, mold has been receiving substantial press, and for good reason. Many health conditions have been attributed to mold exposure; as a result, there have been more than 10,000 mold-related lawsuits in the United States and the coining of the term "toxic mold."
RESPIRATORS are essential personal protective equipment for protection against some airborne biological hazards in health care settings, tuberculosis (TB), the virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), avian influenza, and smallpox virus among them.
HOSPITAL-acquired (nosocomial) infections are estimated to occur in nearly 10 percent of all acute care hospitalizations. The estimated incidence is more than 2 million cases per year, resulting in an added expenditure in excess of $4.5 billion. Transmission of both normal and pathological microorganisms by the hands of health care workers (HCWs) is one of the main routes of infection spread. Skin microorganisms may be considered resident flora or transient flora.
IN the wake of a most devastating 2005 hurricane season with deadly storms named Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, many safety managers will undoubtedly find top management asking tough questions: "What are our risks and threats to customers, employees, operations and property? What type of enhancements to plant safety and emergency planning and response are justified?"
IS H5N1 avian flu the real deal? Surprisingly, many Americans don't fear it. They may have taken comfort from Turkey's outbreaks early this year; the disease was fairly widespread there but, as of this writing, still could not be passed easily from person to person. Health care professionals are very worried, however.
THE United States may never be the target of a large-scale bioterror attack, but homeland security officials continue to urge vigilance and preparedness. Every facility manager can take a number of simple steps to improve a building's preparedness for such an attack, and many of these steps include improvements to the facility's HVAC system.
With the media's focus on highway accidents involving bulk containers, resulting fatalities, and environmental pollution, we tend to forget the vast majority of hazardous materials are shipped in non-bulk containers such as paint cans, bottles, metal drums, pressurized cylinders, and cardboard boxes. Inside are flammable, corrosive, and poisonous liquids; gases; infectious substances; radioactive materials; and explosives, separated only by the containment method, the package.
THE anthrax incident of 2001 was a small bioterrorism attack in terms of the amount of agent used (the letter addressed to Senator Daschle contained only two to three ounces of anthrax spores, and the other letters contained similar amounts) and the resulting morbidity and mortality. (There were only 22 cases of anthrax and five deaths).