Tag Archives: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Infection prevention

Infection Prevention and Your Cat?

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cat_rat

We all know one of the most effective ways to stop the spreading of infections is proper hand hygiene. In certain scenarios, however, particularly in big cities, deterring the spread of germs and disease requires other creative solutions.

 

It’s well known that rats are detrimental to public health. They carry E.coli and C.diff, antibiotic-resistant diseases transmitted to humans through direct contact, such as a rat’s bite. But you don’t have to have up-close interaction with a rat to be vulnerable to their dangers: disease is spread through their urine, feces, and fur (and rats shed a lot).

 

Cities like Chicago and Vancouver have endured such a massive infestation, rodent task forces have been put in place, with accompanying public awareness campaigns. Residents and business owners have tried to eliminate rats by using methods like traps, poison, and trenches, sometimes spending thousands of dollars on pest control attempts, all to no avail.

 

The most effective tool they’ve been able to find? Cats. That’s right, they’re not just good for internet videos: cats happen to be effective weapons in public health.

 

An animal shelter in Chicago called Tree House has contributed greatly to improving public health with their innovative idea of taking rescued cats who aren’t good candidates for adoption, and putting them to work. The Cats at Work project places colonies of cats where they’re needed most. The result is rat-free yards and buildings. With cats on the scene, rats– and diseases they carry– have been eradicated from residences and businesses alike.

 

As always keep washing your hands, but if you need more help, don’t be afraid to employ your cat.

 

Sources: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/15/health/cats-chicago-rat-patrol/index.html, http://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/

Image: https://pixabay.com/en/cat-animal-cat-portrait-cat-s-eyes-1508613/

Infection prevention, Measles outbreak

How an Amish missionary & an amusement park visitor started measles hysteria

Measles: An unwanted guest at Disneyland

We considered opening with “an Amish missionary and an amusement park patron walk into a bar…” but the measles outbreak is most definitely not a joke.

Last year, there were 23 outbreaks of measles in the United States and 644 confirmed cases—the most since the disease was declared all but eliminated back in 2000. The 2014 outbreak was reportedly caused by an Amish missionary who’d traveled to the Philippines where he caught the measles, then returned to his community where many friends and family had refused the measles vaccine—and continued to pass along the disease.

Yesterday, new data released by the CDC shows that 288 cases of measles have been reported in the US since the beginning of the year and over 2,000 people are being monitored in Arizona after someone was exposed to an infected guest at Disneyland in December. And it may be far from over.

Measles is the one of the most infectious diseases known to man

A person with measles can cough in a room and then leave—and hours later (if you are unvaccinated) you could catch the virus from the droplets in the air that they left behind. No other virus can do that.

Measles is an entirely preventable illness

Nearly everyone who gets the proper vaccine will never get sick with measles, even if they’re exposed.

“The current increase in measles cases is being driven by unvaccinated people, primarily U.S. residents, who got measles in other countries, brought the virus back to the United States and spread to others in communities where many people are not vaccinated, says one assistant surgeon general, Dr. Anne Schuchat.

The measles and anti-vaxxers

It’s not just about “anti-vaxxers” (the people refuse vaccinations for a variety of reasons). It’s also about people who CAN’T be vaccinated.

Only about two percent of the U.S. population outright refuses vaccines. But every person counts. Vaccinations don’t just protect you or your children it protects everyone around you. People who are already ill and weakened immune systems, not to mention people who are unable to be vaccinated. The measles vaccine, for instance, is not licensed for use on babies younger than 12 months. That means that, for the first year of life, babies depend on the fact that everybody else around them gets vaccinated.

In most cases, measles isn’t deadly, but it’s almost always debilitating, bringing on a weeks-long fever, rash, and painful, watery eyes. According to an article from Vox, Up to forty percent of people experience serious complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis (or swelling of the brain). One or two children in 1,000 die. Worldwide, measles kills 400 people a day, says Disease Daily. Yet it costs less than a buck to avoid.

The extremely high cost of a measles outbreak

The economic toll of measles is also astounding. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calculated that outbreaks in 2011—a total of just 107 cases—cost state and local taxpayers up to $5.3 million. And USA Today reports that a 2008 outbreak in San Diego cost taxpayers $10,376 per case to trace contacts and administer vaccinations. Why? Due to its high infectiousness and the potential severity of complications, a measles outbreak often constitutes a serious public health event entailing a vigorous response from local public health departments and can involve multiple states and counties. The World Health Organization (WHO) says during 2000-2013, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 15.6 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health.

Before the measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, there were four million cases (with 48,000 hospitalizations and 500 deaths every year). By 2000, the virus was declared eliminated in the U.S. because enough people were immunized so that outbreaks were uncommon—and deaths from measles were scarcely heard of. Take that, anti-vaxxers.

Do you have questions about measles and vaccines? Read this article by Julia Belluz: 9 things everybody should know about measles.

Ebola outbreak, Infection prevention

How fear-mongering over “Ebolanoia” helped improve infection control

Ebola virus

“Ebolanoia”—the unfounded hysteria over Ebola—has swept over North America. Now the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says there’s a flu epidemic raging in America. Scary? The World Health Organization estimates that about 250k to 500k people worldwide die every year from influenza. Fortunately, doctors were ready to fight what is a common winter illness, despite the rise in cases. Beyond Ebola and influenza, there are still other emerging diseases of concern—Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), pandemic flu, Marburg virus, dengue fever and Enterovirus D68. Health officials are monitoring these, but there is still good news.

In 2014, we saw some unprecedented changes and an increased focus on infection control in hospitals in the United States and around the globe. The CDC released a report this week that shows hospitals in the U.S. have made progress in lowering the rates of infections for patients. Specifically, from 2008 to 2013, there was a 46% decrease in infections caused by germs getting into the blood (when tubes aren’t inserted into veins correctly). During that same period, hospitals cut surgical site infections by 19% as well as catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 6%.

CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement to Time Magazine, “Hospitals have made real progress to reduce some types of healthcare-associated infections—it can be done. The key is for every hospital to have rigorous infection control programs to protect patients and healthcare workers, and for health care facilities and others to work together to reduce the many types of infections that haven’t decreased enough.”

Preventing infections saves lives—and money!

A new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control says preventing two of the most common healthcare-associated infections reduces the cost of patient care by more than $150,000. The cost of running an infection prevention program in the ICU is about $145,000.

The Ebola outbreak rages on in Africa. Time magazine even awarded the Ebola caregivers—those who fight Ebola across the world, for their incredible selflessness—as the Time Person of the Year. They write, “Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and ‘us’ means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day.”

Positive action around the globe

Last year, thanks to positive action in Ireland—including campaigns exhorting handwashing and a more cautious use of antibiotics—infection levels fell significantly. A proactive infection prevention plan implemented widely in a Hong Kong healthcare system also proved to be a significant factor preventing the spread of influenza strain A H7N9 (Avian flu) last year. You can find a detailed breakdown of five major infection control occurrences that affected U.S. hospitals this past year at Becker’s Hospital Review, too. And the list goes on.

Patricia Stone, PhD, RN, FAAN, director of the Center for Health Policy at Columbia University School of Nursing says, “The Ebola outbreak is a reminder that we cannot afford to let our guard down or grow complacent. Any death from preventable infections is one too many. We’ve known for decades what works to prevent infections and save lives and now our study shows just how much money can be saved by investing in prevention.”

Has your hospital, healthcare facility, school, or community implemented more training or action to prevent infections? Share your insights with us!

Dr. Gordon Short weighs in

Win the war on food-borne bugs in 20 seconds

Call Homeland Security—there’s an invasion on restaurants and kitchens everywhere. We’re talking about bugs. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites…the ones you savor during mealtime then pay a big price for later. These microorganisms would just love to ruin your day with a good case of accelerated peristalsis, forward or reverse (you know it as vomit, upchuck, puke and the Aztec two-step, Montezuma’s revenge, or the Greek’s own diarrhea). Don’t let them win. Declare war on these bugs.

The culprits have many names, so we’ll just refer to them collectively as food-borne illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year roughly one in six Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of food-borne illnesses each year. While outbreaks of this and that get a lot of attention and spur concerns over food processing and food imports, the reality is that as much as 70 percent of food poisoning cases originate in the kitchen.

That’s right—people, not products, are the main cause of food-borne illnesses—and they can be avoided by following some basic principles of food safety. That’s where we come in. The CDC says the first line of defense to protect against food-borne illness is to wash your hands the correct way: 20 seconds with soap and running water. And be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. Most people don’t wash their hands right but winning this war means that changes.

We’re a longtime partner with the Handwashing for Life® to advocate and teach correct hand washing techniques. You can buy a DVD that demonstrates the why, when and how of good handwashing practice to motivate your employees and more. Of course you can use our products to check that you’ve washed correctly, too. Ready to fight the invasion of food-borne bugs? Reach for the soap and water and leave the anti-diarrheal medication on the shelf.