The agency's May 2010 request for information attracted comments for and against a rulemaking that would address workers' protection against exposure to H1N1, TB, and other diseases.
By focusing proper cleaning on surfaces in the office that get more hand attention, health-based cleaning services target potentially contaminated surfaces that can harbor MRSA and other harmful pathogens.
With construction of venues for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games well under way, a study commissioned by HSE analyzed the risks and hazards at major sports events around the world. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was insured for a total of about $9.4 billion, according to Lloyd's.
Clean Harbors, based in Norwell, Mass., is offering the service to health care providers because multiple doses of the vaccine contain enough mercury-based Thimerosal to be treated as a hazardous waste.
The biennial review required by the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 is under way. Comments about biological agents or toxins that should be added or removed are due by Aug. 20.
"These cost data highlight that water-related diseases pose not only a physical burden to the thousands of people sickened by them each year, but also a substantial burden in health care costs, including direct government payments through Medicare and Medicaid," said Michael Beach of CDC, an author of the study.
"We want restaurants and anyone preparing fresh salsa and guacamole at home to be aware that these foods containing raw ingredients should be carefully prepared and refrigerated to help prevent illness," said Magdalena Kendall, an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) researcher who collaborated on the CDC study.
Nominations to fill 12 slots on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods are being accepted until Aug. 9. Most members require scientific expertise in epidemiology, food technology, microbiology toxicology, chemistry, risk assessment, or infectious disease.
The National Association of County & City Health Officials holds its annual meeting next week in Memphis with officials worried about 23,000 jobs lost thus far at local health departments nationwide.
According to the World Health Organization, about one person dies of TB every 17 seconds, and the disease continues to be a contagious scourge in both developing and developed countries because each infected person represents a potential yet preventable future outbreak.
The Food and Drug Administration has announced approval of the first rapid blood test for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) for individuals aged 15 years and older. The OraQuick HCV Rapid Antibody Test is used to test individuals who are at risk for infection with HCV and people with signs or symptoms of hepatitis.
A university study of reusable grocery bags found that 50 percent were contaminated with E. coli and other bacteria, and that a full 97 percent of the shoppers who use them had never washed, much less bleached, the totes.
"When doctors or nurses lean over the beds of patients who are carrying organisms, their clothing can become contaminated. Hours later, that bacteria can still be alive and passed on through incidental contact with other patients," said Dr. Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
A roundtable hosted by CSA Standards produced a whitepaper suggesting how to prepare for the next one, with emphasis on vaccine development and PPE.
"I have witnessed the ravages of Lyme on countless occasions," the author writes. "I see patients who have been sick with Lyme disease for more than two years without a positive test. I also have patients who have been sick for more than six months because they were not aware that fatigue, poor memory, irritability and poor sleep could be symptoms of neurologic Lyme disease."
The association's first national study, in 2006, found that 46 of every 1,000 inpatients were either infected or colonized with MRSA, a type of bacteria that causes serious infections and is resistant to powerful antibiotics, including methicillin.
Global threats such as SARS, avian flu, and the more recent H1N1 influenza or swine flu, have led to a surge in demand for the products, the study notes.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's 2010 conference in Bethesda, Md., has the theme "Changing Care, Changing Lives: Delivering on Quality for All Americans." Improving the quality of care, reducing health care-associated infections, and building momentum for patient safety are on the program.
The series of half-day seminars will discuss ergonomics, pandemic influenza, indoor air quality, fire protection, and other potential workplace hazards.
The opening of Building 23 in Atlanta finishes the replacement of all outdated CDC biological laboratories, including the oldest laboratory buildings.