Salmonellosis is an infection with bacteria called Salmonella. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea …
C. difficile is a spore-forming, gram-positive anaerobic bacillus that produces two exotoxins: toxin A and toxin B. It is a common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). It accounts for 15-25% of all episodes of AAD. What are C. difficile-associated diseases?They are diseases that result from …
As we enter the next millennium of infection control, we stand on theshoulders of giants—Jenner, Semmelweis, Nightingale, Oliver Wendell Holmes,and my own personal favorite, Thomas Crapper, the father of indoorplumbing. Modern infection control is grounded in the work of IgnazSemmelweis, who in the 1840s demonstrated …
1918-19 Spanish Flu (H1N1)• 20-50 million deaths worldwide• >500,000 U.S. deaths 1957-58 Asian Flu (H2N2)• 70,000 U.S. deaths 1968-69 Hong Kong Flu (H3N2)• 34,000 U.S. deaths Estimated Impact of a Future Avian Influenza Pandemic in the U.S. Deaths: 89,000 – 207,000 Hospitalizations: 314,000 – …
The spread of infectious agents through the mail has concerned public health officials for 5 centuries. The dissemination of anthrax spores in the US mail in 2001 was a recent example. In 1901, two medical journals reported outbreaks of smallpox presumably introduced by letters …
The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) is a federal advisory committee made up of 14 external infection control experts who provide advice and guidance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human …
This text addresses the basic principles and methods of sampling environmental surfaces and other environmental sources for microorganisms. 1. General Principles: Microbiologic Sampling of the Environment Before 1970, U.S. hospitals conducted regularly scheduled culturing of the air and environmental surfaces (e.g., floors, walls, and …
Although microbiologically contaminated surfaces can serve as reservoirs of potential pathogens, these surfaces generally are not directly associated with transmission of infections to either staff or patients. The transferral of microorganisms from environmental surfaces to patients is largely via hand contact with the surface. Although …
VISA and VRSA are specific types of antimicrobial-resistant staph bacteria. While most staph bacteria are susceptible to the antimicrobial agent vancomycin some have developed resistance. VISA and VRSA cannot be successfully treated with vancomycin because these organisms are no longer susceptibile to vancomycin. However, to …
On February 8, 2007, the District of Columbia Department of Health (DCDOH) was notified of an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in an elementary school (prekindergarten through sixth grade). The school nurse reported that 27 students and two staff members had become ill during February 4-8 …