Infection Control Today News

Got the Flu? You Might Pass It On to Your Pet

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:32:22 PDT

Pet owners who contract H1N1 flu may pass the disease along to their pets, especially if the pet is a cat or ferret."A small number of companion animal H1N1 flu cases have been confirmed in the U.S.," said Dick Hesse, a flu expert and director of virology in Kansas State ...(325 words)

Link Between Infectious Disease Transmission and Climate Change is Examined

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:21:22 PDT

An emerging body of evidence suggests that the changing global climate is already affecting infectious disease transmission patterns. As noted today in a symposium at the 58th annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), such changes are expected to have a profound impact on global ...(512 words)

Vicks Sinex Nasal Spray Recalled for Bacterial Contamination

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:16:21 PDT

The Procter Gamble Company announced today it is voluntarily recalling three lots of its Vicks Sinex nasal spray in three countries: the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.The company said it is taking this precautionary step after finding the bacteria B. cepacia in a small amount of product ...(330 words)

OSHA Issues Directive to Address Flu Prevention for Healthcare Workers

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:23 PDT

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a compliance directive to ensure uniform procedures when conducting inspections to identify and minimize or eliminate high to very high risk occupational exposures to the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus.The directive, which closely follows the Centers for ...(364 words)

Cigarettes Harbor Many Bacteria Harmful to Human Health

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:34:53 PDT

Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France. The research team describes the study as the first to show ...(655 words)

Asthma a Significant Risk Factor for Complications in Children with H1N1

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:28:07 PDT

A new study on pediatric H1N1 influenza admissions has found that asthma is a significant risk factor for severe disease in children with pandemic H1N1 compared with the seasonal flu. The study, led by researchers from the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario, is published online today in ...(368 words)

On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Researchers Target Tick Saliva

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:05:44 PDT

A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the Nov. 19 issue of Cell Host Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites.Traditionally, ...(398 words)

Researchers Take Aim at Hard-to-Treat Fungal Infections

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:55:35 PDT

A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections. The system can be a powerful tool for screening potential drug targets for conditions like thrush, athlete's foot and vaginal yeast infections, ...(610 words)

Cardinal Health, Patient Safety Technologies Enter into Agreement for Surgicount Surgical Safety Products

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:44:23 PDT

Cardinal Health and Patient Safety Technologies today announced that they have entered into a five-year exclusive distribution agreement to co-market the SurgiCount Safety-Sponge™ System, which helps prevent retention of sponges and towels unintentionally left in patients during surgical procedures.The new agreement builds upon a relationship that began in 2006 when ...(404 words)

Preventing H1N1 Spread to Healthcare Workers: Dilemma and Debate

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:19 PDT

A commentary in the December 2009 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases brings to light the gaps in knowledge on the transmission of a common pathogen – the influenza virus – and its impact on decisions about how best to protect healthcare workers (HCWs). Infectious diseases specialist Leonard Mermel, DO, ...(463 words)