Cigarette Smoke May Impair Lungs Natural Defense Against Harmful Pathogen

Exposure to cigarette smoke may impair the ability of immune cells to clear bacterial infections from the lungs, specifically nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI), a pathogen often associated with respiratory infections and the progression of respiratory diseases.
P. Marti-Lliteras, V. Regueiro, P. Morey, D.W. Hood, C. Saus, J. Sauleda, A.G.N. Agusti, J.A. Bengoechea, J. Garmendia. 2009. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae clearance by alveolar macrophages is impaired by exposure to cigarette smoke. Infection and Immunity, 77. 10: 4232-4242.)

Pumpkin Skin Antibiotic

The skin of that pumpkin you carve into a Jack-o'-Lantern to scare away ghosts and goblins on Halloween contains a substance that could put a scare into microbes that cause millions of cases of yeast infections in adults and infants each year.
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf902005g

Frigid Antarctica Loaded with Viruses | LiveScience

Frigid Antarctica Loaded with Viruses | LiveScience: A lake in Antarctica was found to harbor a surprising variety of viruses. Here, an image of the Spanish, non-permanent camp in Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica). Credit: Science/AAAS.
Full Size
1 of 3
Antarctica's icy lakes are home to a surprisingly diverse community of viruses, including some that were previously unidentified, a new study finds.

Swine Flu Vaccine Misinformation

Regarding the YouTube Article: SWINE FLU VACCINES: MAJOR MEDICAL THREAT (august 19 2009) DO NOT TAKE VACCINES PERIOD.

I didn't know there were so many dangerous people in the world. But then I came to this YouTube entry! The comments and advice could be life-threatening!

If anyone took the time to read the insert for any medication they would see a long list of POSSIBLE side-effects, that for most drugs have a small chance of occurring, and certainly after rigorous clinical trials are deemed to be outweighed by the benefits. Nothing is perfect in this life and we must be vigilant with all things that affect our wellbeing. But please don't be put off by the comments in the YouTube article from making a sensible judgement on whether your risk of exposure to flu, and your preexisting health or health history warrant taking or not taking the available vaccine. And please do this, if possible, with help and advice from your doctor or other knowledgeable medical professional (e.g. phamacist).

Remember, the inserts for drugs show that the company and government are prepared to be honest and upfront about the risks. But to make use of the information you need to get educated about what they mean, especially in terms of the chances they might occur relative to your own health history, and importantly what your risks are if you don't take the medication.

Influenza can be a serious illness, especially for certain individuals with present health issues, including immune disorders. And don't forget the "unknown" preexisting conditions that individuals can have. When was the last time you had a health check?

I am not a medical doctor, but I feel I am well enough informed to make comments on this issue. I have taken the time and effort to find facts, and not just anecdotes. The instantly made alarmist reactions from the internet are most often not facts, they are lay opinions. Having said that, many people make comments with the best intentions, although the information they give might be flawed. Mix this with the views of nutcases and the completely diversionary religious inserts (as in the YouTube article’s comments) and the outcome can be simply misinformation. This can be unhelpful and even dangerous. Of course, there are also examples of fallacious "medical" opinion, a notable example being the incorrect interpretations and advice from certain UK doctors about the MMR vaccine that led to major problems in its uptake due to concerned parents believing the (very small) minority opinion rather than reading widely and deeply. Now the consensus is that MMR is safe, but there was not real evidence to refute this originally had people looked! The media had a field day and due to their scaremongering many children have gotten ill.

To conclude, get hold of the medical/scientific facts (independently and from a doctor), discuss the issues widely and deeply, think long and hard about the benefits, think long and hard about the alternatives and their possible consequences, and then make the decision. You can't do more than that and so then whatever your decision it will be the right one, but YOU will have to live (or not) with the consequences!

Alcohol hand rubs increase growth of Acinetobacter

Edwards, J., Patel, G. & Wareham, D.W. (2007). Low concentrations of commercial alcohol hand rubs facilitate growth of and secretion of extracellular proteins by multidrug-resistant strains of Acinetobacter baumannii. J Med Microbial 56, 1595–1599.

The medical profession continues to be haunted by serious bacterial infections acquired within hospitals. If the bacteria can survive antibiotics, as in the so-called multidrug-resistant strains, treatment can be very difficult. The classic measure of good hand hygiene can reduce infection rates by 10–50 %, so hospitals have introduced ways for staff to clean their hands frequently without suffering from chapped skin. These include using alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHRs) dispensed from a pump adjacent to patients’ beds. These are solutions of ethanol or isopropanol, often in combination with an antiseptic and moisturiser which are less irritating to skin than soap.

Although studies have shown that ABHRs reduce infection rates, they are not effective against all bacteria. One example is the spores of Clostridium difficile that can cause very serious gastrointestinal infections. Now, Justin Edwards, Greta Patel and David Wareham from Barts and The London NHS Trust and the MRC Clincal Sciences Centre of Imperial College London have found evidence that low concentrations of ABHRs enhance in vitro growth of Acinetobacter baumannii, an opportunistic pathogen of critically ill patients.

A. baumannii has emerged in recent years as an important cause of ventilatorassociated pneumonia and blood infections in patients with burns, immunosuppression and critical illness. Many strains also turn out to be resistant to many antibiotics so that treatment is extremely difficult. The bacteria have a remarkable ability to persist on surfaces in the hospital environment and are spread by the hands of hospital staff so that hand hygiene is the key factor in preventing these infections.

The researchers therefore tested whether low concentrations of commercially available ABHRs could affect the growth of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii. Depending on the growth medium, the presence of 0.01–1 % ABHR resulted in increased growth of A. baumannii. In contrast, a hand-cleaning product that was free of alcohol and relied on strong detergents to kill bacteria did not support the growth of A. baumannii at all.

The researchers then investigated the proteins secreted by A. baumannii as it grew because previous work has shown that low concentrations of ethanol increase the virulence as well as the numbers of A. baumannii. They discovered that oomph was a major secreted protein, along with another protein with an unknown role. OmpA is well known and may help the cells take up ethanol as a food source when other nutrients are in short supply. It may also help the bacterial cells sense each other and form films on surfaces.

The findings of this paper are certainly interesting, but their clinical significance remains unclear. However, if low concentrations of ABHRs do indeed exist in the clinical environment, this work may have implications for those hospitals currently experiencing outbreaks of A. baumannii.

And so to bed ...

The contribution of beds to healthcare-associated infection: the importance of adequate decontamination
E. Creamer and H. Humphrey
Journal of Hospital Infection
Volume 69, Issue 1, May 2008, Pages 8-23
The hospital bed is comprised of different components, which pose a potential risk of infection for the patient if not adequately decontaminated. In the literature there are a number of descriptions of outbreaks or experimental investigations involving meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Acinetobacter spp., and other pathogens. Often only the bedrail has been sampled during investigation of outbreaks, rather than more important potential reservoirs of infection, such as mattresses and pillows, which are in direct contact with patients. It is essential that these items and other bed components are adequately decontaminated to minimise the risk of cross-infection, but detailed advice on this aspect is often lacking in reports and official documents. The ideal would be to decontaminate the bed by thermal disinfection between patients. Institutions, especially acute hospitals with endemic MRSA and VRE, should consider investing in this type of equipment or at least endeavour to ensure that the critical components, e.g. mattresses and pillows, are processed in a thermal disinfection unit. Other technology such as hydrogen peroxide should be studied further to determine its role for routine use as well as during outbreaks. Clear guidelines should be formulated for bed decontamination and systems established, such as labelling, to indicate when a bed has undergone decontamination. Pillows and mattresses should be made of materials that are easily washed, dried and decontaminated, and have the lowest potential to harbour organisms. The regular replacement of mattress and pillows should be included in hospital budgets. While all equipment and environmental aspects in contact with the patient can cause infection, and therefore require appropriate decontamination, priority should be given to mattresses and pillows, due to their greater degree of contact with the patient.

Microbe Facts - Be Scared !!

The average load of clean laundry contains 10 million CFUs of faecal matter!

The dirtiest place in the average home is the kitchen sink.

Faecal bacteria and viruses are ejected from toilets during flushing.