Bacterial contamination in fruits and vegetables

06-07-2011

Fruits and vegetables can come in contact with bacteria from the soil and water .

Triclosan and antibiotic resistance in bacteria

06-09-2011

With explosion of products containing antibacterial agents like triclosan, scientist are worried that these agents will select bacteria resistant to them and cross-resistant to antibiotics.

Can your pets make you sick?

09-05-2011

The pets calm our moods, give us companionship, protect us from harm, and can be psychologically comforting.  In return for these benefits pets do not ask anything in return. As much as we want our pets to be healthy, we do not want to get sick from the germs they might carry.  With proper care of pets, the benefits from pet ownership can outweigh the risk of illnesses associated with pets.

According to Dr. Casey Barton, epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease control and Prevention, all sorts of pets are frequently linked to outbreaks of human illness. Individuals in high-risk groups such as people with HIV/AIDS, organ transplant patients, infants and young children below 5 years of age and pregnant women are more susceptible to germs from pets.
 

Beware: New Salmonella Super-bug is coming

08-11-2011

A new antibiotic resistant Salmonella strain called Salmonella enterica serotype Kentucky is rapidly spreading globally. The bacterium likely originated from contaminated turkeys and chickens.

Can antibiotics trigger E coli to produce toxin in the body?

08-01-2011

German E. coli O104:H4 outbreak strain, antibiotic quinolone treatment trigers toxin production.

Listeria Scare:Will you Stop Eating Fresh Fruits and Vegetables?

10-03-2011

There is no need to panic. Although the fruits and vegetables you buy from the market may have been sanitized, during initial processing and prior to packaging, there is a need to re-sanitize after buying form the supermarket. During transportation over long distance and for the extended period, the chances of increased bacterial population would increase the risk of infection. Re-sanitizing gives an additional measure of safety. There are good sanitizing agents for this purpose.

Did your doctor say you got stomach flu?

11-05-2011

Often one goes to the doctor complaining of headache, fever, and stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhea and the doctor says it may be stomach flu. Although referred to as stomach flu, the causative agent most often is not influenza virus. A number of viruses as well as some bacteria (such as salmonella E,coli etc.) or parasites (such as Giardia) may display similar symptoms of gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is caused by many different viruses including rotaviruses; noroviruses; adenoviruses (types 40 and 41). saporoviruses; and astroviruses.
 

Giardia: A parasite with human face look-a-like.

12-04-2011

Giardia, a microscopic single cell protozoan parasite, lives and multiplies  in oxygen deprived  (anaerobic) environment of the intestinal tract. It is the most frequent cause of non-bacterial diarrhea, giardiasis, in North America.  Under the microscope it looks like a human face with its two nuclear bodies appearing as eyes and a groove resembling a mouth.  Giardia  is highly infective and can start an infection by ingestion of only 10 cysts that can remain on a pin head.  The transmission of person to person infection can occur primarily via improperly washed hands. Because one does not develop immunity to giardiasis, a person can repeatedly get infected. The existence of many strains of giardia can also add to multiple episodes of the infection. Although often not debilitating, giardiasis is an annoying, unpleasant and inconvenient infection especially during travel.
 

The Commandments for Preventing MRSA Infection

02-11-2012

MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is common bacterium found on skin and in nostrils that has become resistant to methicillin antibiotic. These infections are difficult to treat or even fatal as there are only very limited antibiotics options of treatment such as “intravenous administration of vancomycin". After indiscriminate use of antibiotics, to treat staphylococcus infections the bacterium mutates or acquires resistantance to antibiotic as its way of survival. Only after one year of use in early 1960s the MRSA spread has been rapid in general population. A study by Josh Knox  Columbia University showed that if a family member has MRSA infection, other members are at increased risk of recurring MRSA infection. “The study also showed that having a child age 5 or younger or having a pet in the home doubles the risk of transmitting staph to another household member” The community–acquired MRSA referred to as CA-MRSA infections are spreading in general population at an alarming rate even in individuals without recent history of hospitalization or nursing home stays. The MRSA infections spread by direct contact with infected individual or a contaminated object.  The way to survive MRSA infections is to “prevent rather than to treat.“  The following are some important commandments for preventing MRSA.

Revenge of Clostridium difficile

03-04-2012

 

Returning home after a extended stay in the hospitals with complaints of watery diarrhea, abdominal cramping and pain, blood or pus in the stool, nausea, dehydration and other symptoms, is most often sign of the revenge of Clostridium difficile bacterium (C.dff). Repeated and long term antibiotic treatment for infections  destroys most common bacteria in the intestinal tract . The resistant C.diff survives and causes ravage. Aggressive treatment with antibiotics such as third generation cephalosporins, aminopenicillins, penicillins with beta-lactamase inhibitors, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, lincosamides, and carbapenems selectively favors the growth of the bacterium. The mortality rate in outbreaks of C.diff infection from 4.8% in 1991 has increased to a higher rate of 13.8%. More aggressive the treatment, greater is the revenge.

Birth defects and Viruses

04-14-2012

Like toxic chemicals, the viruses can cause birth effects. Of the viruses cytomegalovirus (CMV) stands out. CMV can cause hearing loss, intellectual disabilities. premature birth, liver problems, lung problems, spleen problems, small size at birth, small head size and seizures. Therefore exposure of pregnant women to CMV is the biggest risk factor for birth defects. The CDC reports that about t in 1,000 live births, about 8 infants, will have congenital CMV infection, of which 1-2 (0.1%) will have permanent problems.

Contaminated surfaces can transmit CMV and cause infection. Sanitizing surfaces such as metal, wood, glass, plastic, rubber with non-toxic chemicals can reduce the risk of toxicity of chemicals as well the transmission of CMV infections. Drs. Stowell and colleagues presented the survival of CMV on the surfaces in a study in a scientific journal in 2012.

Beware: Antacids Can Work Against You

05-09-2012

 Stomach acid serve many roles besides aiding digestive enzymes. Gastric acidity is one of the natural defenses of the host against infection from food- and water-infective microorganisms. According to Dr. Hornick and colleagues, under buffered conditions the illness producing dose of Vibrio cholerae can increase 10,000 times. Antacid and cimetidine therapy, which reduced gastric acidity, was associated with Listeria infections. Reduced gastric acidity also enhanced pathogenesis in Salmonella infections.