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An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have identified the genes encoding a molecule that famously defines Group A Streptococcus (strep), a pathogenic bacterial species responsible for more than 700 million infections worldwide each year.

The human body is comprised of roughly 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells. In healthy people, these bacteria are typically harmless and often helpful, keeping disease-causing microbes at bay. But, when disturbances knock these bacterial populations out of balance, illnesses can arise. Periodontitis, a severe form of gum disease, is one example. In a new study, University of Pennsylvania researchers show that bacteria responsible for many cases of periodontitis cause this imbalance, known as dysbiosis, with a sophisticated, two-prong manipulation of the human immune system.

Between June 2 and 3, 2014, 11 new cases (8 confirmed, 1 probable and 2 suspected) and 3 new deaths were reported from Conakry (7 new cases and 1 death), Gueckedou (2 new cases and 1 death), Telimele (1 new case and 0 deaths), and Boffa (1 new case and 1 death). This brings the cumulative total number of cases and deaths attributable to Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea to 344 (207 confirmed, 81 probable, and 56 suspected cases) including 215 deaths.

At the recent Michigan Society of Hospital Central Service Personnel (MSHCSP) Conference held in Sterling Heights, Mich., Healthmark Industries announced that Mary Velasco is the winner of the IAHCSMM’s 2014 Anne Cofiell Decontaminator of the Year Award. Velasco is the CSSD manager at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital and has more than 35 years of experience in the sterile processing field, including as past-president of MSHCSP.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Checklist for Prevention of Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections (CLABSI) lists as its No. 1 task for clinicians: Perform daily audits as to whether each central line is still needed. However, if the daily audit is not done with a clear and current knowledge of what constitutes a valid indication for central venous access, and if that knowledge is not acted on promptly, what’s the point?

Standard terminal cleaning of hospital rooms is a fundamental Infection Prevention process performed by the Environment of Care staff. It is defined as physical cleaning followed by disinfection with an approved hospital disinfectant. Monitoring consistency of this process, however,is difficult and not assured. There can be as many variations of the process as there is staff performing the task. It is not unusual that significant residual bacteria are left in place.Alternative disinfection technology utilizing a product derived from saline and electricity, "superoxidized water," produces a cidal activity 50-100 times that of household bleach, addressing growing resistance issues of standard terminal cleaning agents. Electrolyzed sodium hypochlorous acid (HOCL), produces an efficient disinfecting adjunct to standard terminal cleaning and provides many advantages in optimizing infection prevention in the hospital environment. The wand spray device distributes the product in a sequential back and forth motion producing a uniform distribution of the powder coating to all areas of the environment. Due to the neutral pH of the HOCL, it is non-toxic, does not leave residue on environmental surfaces, and is not corrosive to hospital equipment as traditional bleach and phenolics have long demonstrated.