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Proteins responsible for controlling levels of iron in the body also play an important role in combatting infection, according to a study published today in Cell Host & Microbe. Humans -- along with all living organisms, including pathogens -- need iron to survive: invading organisms try to highjack it from their hosts in order to thrive and multiply. Researchers at EMBL Heidelberg, and their colleagues, have now discovered that proteins responsible for helping the body maintain the correct levels of iron at a cellular level are also involved in helping to prevent this theft. These proteins form a system called IRP/IRE (iron regulatory protein/iron responsive element).

While strides have been made to address occupational injuries and exposures in the healthcare environment, the obstacles remain, and ex-perts say that a greater commitment to safety among all stakeholders -- healthcare personnel, healthcare institutions and industry -- is necessary to achieve a reduction in the numbers of individuals experiencing these adverse events. This special digital issue explores current rates of reported sharps-related injuries and blood/body fluid exposures; looks at recent data characterizing efforts toward improving safety, and presents the findings of a survey of infection preventionists.

Scientists have discovered a new variant of streptococcal bacteria that has contributed to a rise in disease cases in the UK over the last 17 years. Group A streptococcus causes around 600 million infections annually worldwide. Severe infections can cause necrotising fasciitis, pneumonia, sepsis, or toxic shock, and around 1 in 4 people who suffer an invasive infection do not survive.

As countries with cases of Ebola virus disease work tirelessly to get to zero cases, efforts are already underway to re-train health workers and return them to the workforce. In May, a pilot training program was completed in Lofa County, Liberia. More than 700 Liberian health workers have completed the program, rolled out by Liberia’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) in northwestern Lofa County over six weeks. The participants, nearly 70 percent of the county’s healthcare workforce, included doctors, nurses, hygienists, physicians’ assistants, drug dispensers, cleaners, nurses’ aides, vaccinators, clinic supervisors and social workers.