ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, and the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) announced today that they have agreed to enter a long-term partnership for the cooperative development of science-based cleaning standards that would develop industry data, training, measurement, and certification programs. The first initiative …
Abstract Background/Objectives Despite isolation precautions and enhanced hand hygiene products, the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens remains a major problem in a range of healthcare settings. Although not an independent factor, environmental contamination with these resilient pathogens is believed to play a significant role …
Have you ever wondered why it is that we have such trouble with influenza? Why don’t we just get immunized once, and never need to worry again? Why is it that once we have had the “flu”, we can later “catch” the “flu” again and …
University of Iowa researchers have succeeded in wiping out established biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) by hijacking one of the bacteria’s own regulatory systems. Although the discovery is not ready for clinical application, the findings offer insight into a dispersal mechanism for staph biofilms and …
A study which investigated germs collected on footwear, by Dr. Charles Gerba, microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, and The Rockport® Company, found large numbers of bacteria both on the bottom and inside of shoes; averaging 421,000 units of bacteria on the outside …
If you’ve always suspected there are unknown things living in the dark and dusty corners of your home and office, we are now one step closer to cataloguing exactly what might be lurking in your indoor environment. Buildings have their own pattern of bacteria in …
On the opening leaf of his seminal text on Ecology, Eugene Pleasants Odum wrote: Big fleas have little fleas Upon their backs to bite ’em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so, ad infinitum. This little Dutch proverb tells us that there is no …
The process of hard surface disinfecting is an integral component of a comprehensive cleaning protocol. Its use and purpose is twofold: First, to lower the initial bioburden of a contaminated surface and render it “safe”, generally from a public health perspective. Secondly, as a cleaning …
For thousands of years, man has been mystified by fireflies—about 1,900 species of nocturnal, glow-in-the-dark beetles. In fact, these bioluminescent insects have inspired poets and delighted children for centuries. It was theorized that their blinking light was used to attract mates and possibly fend off …
HEPA means High Efficiency Particle Arrestance. HEPA products remove 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns and greater in size. If you don’t have a good HEPA vacuum, the small, unseen particles are blown back out of the vacuum into the air. Sometimes you can smell them. …