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Nate Scheibe

Microbe Counts and Transgenerational Epigenetics | On Science Blogs - 0 views

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    A funny and interesting blog post on exactly how much of our body is (or is not) microbial in nature.
Casey Finnerty

Staph Germs Hide Out In The Hidden Recesses Of Your Nose : Shots - Health News : NPR - 0 views

  • The fact that staph germs are hanging out in remote precincts of the nose may explain why efforts to kill off the germs on carriers before elective surgery can fail, Relman thinks. The voyage up the nose also revealed that staph thrived only when another bacterial species, C. pseudodiptheriticum, was in short supply. It could be that this second microbe produces substances that keep staph at bay.
Casey Finnerty

Cruise Ship Illness: Why Are Ships So Prone to Norovirus Outbreaks? - 0 views

  • The industrial-size servings of food on a cruise ship with hundreds of passengers can be particularly worrisome, since once the virus enters the food it can spread rapidly. Food can also get more easily contaminated with the virus if it sits out for several hours, as is often the case with buffet-style meals.
  • And so many people being in one place eases the virus's spread. "In close quarters it doesn't get away, everything's concentrated," Zimring says.
  • The best defense against gastrointestinal disease, Zimring says, is to wash and sanitize your hands constantly
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  • try to be the first person there at the buffet
  • Don't eat tepid food.
  • avoid buffet meals entirely
Casey Finnerty

Why Norovirus Crops Up on Cruises - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • Over the past five years, an average of about 14 cruise ships a year have had outbreaks of diarrheal illness, and the culprit is almost always norovirus
  • The best way to avoid it is prevention, and the best prevention is hand washing.
  • The problem, he said, is passengers. “If Grandma is sick when she gets on, she’s going on the cruise anyway,” Dr. Vinjé said. “And that’s how the virus gets onboard. Then it lands on handrails and doorknobs, and the transmission continues.”
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  • regardless of the origin, once onboard, the illness spreads widely. He says the reason is failure to clean restrooms properly.
Casey Finnerty

Rare Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Spreads To Six States : Shots - Health Blog : NPR - 0 views

  • The drug was contaminated with the spores of a common leaf mold — nobody knows how.
  • Five patients have died.
    • Casey Finnerty
       
      As of 2012-10-15, 203 cases, 15 deaths.
  • Compounding pharmacies, which provide up to 10 percent of U.S. pharmaceuticals, are more loosely regulated than traditional drug companies. As is common, NECC is licensed by a state pharmacy board, which doesn't have the staff to conduct regular inspections. The company has been cited for contamination problems in the past, as the Boston Globe reports.
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  • Surprisingly, the FDA says it has no idea how many doses of the tainted medicine have been shipped out.
  • methylprednisolone
  • The incubation period of fungal meningitis may be as long as four weeks.
  • Dr. April Pettit
  • People don't get Apergillus infections unless they have severely compromised immunity.
  • Pettit learned the man had gotten a spinal injection a couple of weeks earlier. She put two and two together and notified state health authorities.
  • There's one lucky aspect of this disaster: Unlike more common forms of meningitis, this type can't be passed from person to person.
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