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With the outbreak of viruses like Zika, chikungunya, and dengue on the rise, public health officials are desperate to stop transmission. Virginia Tech experts explore one way -- through the genetic engineering of mosquitoes to maleness -- in the Feb. 17 issue of the journal Trends in Parasitology.

At the two hospitals where I work, the sterile processing departments (SPDs) are located in the basement and near the morgue. To think that people are literally dying to be closer to the SPD is a unique feature that not just any hospital department can claim!

Q: Are we allowed to use latex gloves in the decontamination area?  Is there any documentation in AAMI or OSHA that dictates the use of latex gloves in the decontamination area? Secondly, are we allowed to wear gloves in the sterile prep area while putting together trays?A:  According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administrations’ Blood Borne Pathogen Ruling (2001), “Personal protective equipment (i) Provision. When there is occupational exposure, the employer shall provide, at no cost to the employee, appropriate personal protective equipment such as, but not limited to, gloves, gowns, laboratory coats, face shields or masks and eye protection, and mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, pocket masks, or other ventilation devices. Personal protective equipment will be considered “appropriate” only if it does not permit blood or other potentially infectious materials to pass through or reach the employee’s work clothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth, or other mucous membranes under normal conditions of use and for the duration of time that the protective equipment will be used. Accessibility. The employer shall ensure that appropriate personal protective equipment in the appropriate sizes is readily accessible at the work site or is issued to employees. Hypoallergenic gloves, glove liners, powderless gloves, or other similar alternatives shall be readily accessible to those employees who are allergic to the gloves normally provided.”

Bacteria have evolved thousands of clever tactics for invading our bodies while evading our natural defenses. Now, UNC School of Medicine scientists studying one of the world’s most virulent pathogens and a separate very common bacterium have discovered a new way that some bacteria can spread rapidly throughout the body – by hitchhiking on our own immune cells.

As the emergency phase of the response to the Ebola outbreak winds down in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries face an equally urgent and formidable task: building health systems capable of preventing, detecting and responding to outbreaks.