Considerations for Evaluating and Purchasing a UV Device for Surface Disinfection
October 27th 2016During the trial and evaluation of a UV device for surface disinfection, healthcare professionals' due diligence must span a wide range of considerations. For example, any new device being considered for purchase and implementation in a healthcare organization should be evaluated for its cost effectiveness; healthcare professionals must investigate whether the technology has demonstrated a reduction in infection rates that justifies the cost associated with the purchase and maintenance of the device. Evaluators must identify the ongoing costs involved in the use, education and training for clinical products and equipment. In choosing advanced technologies, the length of treatment time is a key factor that should be considered when purchasing capital equipment, due to the potential economic impact in terms of staffing and labor costs in-volved.
Enzyme is Crucial for Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant E. coli Infections
October 27th 2016Research by bioscientists at the University of Kent and the University of Queensland is expected to pave the way for new approaches to kill bacteria that no longer respond to conventional antibiotics. In a paper published by Scientific Reports, Kent's Dr. Mark Shepherd and colleagues demonstrate the importance of an enzyme, cytochrome bd-I, for survival of E. coli that is resistant to multiple antibiotics.
How AIDS Conquered North America
October 26th 2016Researchers at the University of Arizona and the University of Cambridge in the U.K. have reconstructed the origins of the AIDS pandemic in unprecedented detail.The findings were made possible by a molecular technique the team developed for this project, enabling them to recover genetic material from more than 40-year-old serum samples and decipher the gene sequence of the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, subtype that started the outbreak on the North American continent in the early 1970s. Phylogenetic analyses estimate the jump to the U.S. at about 1970 and place the ancestral U.S. virus in New York City, strongly suggesting this was the crucial hub from which HIV made its way across the continent.
SLU Scientists Identify Potential New Approach to Building a Vaccine Against Chagas Disease
October 26th 2016Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development researchers have identified a potential new target for vaccines that activates a part of the immune system not previously known to be protective against Chagas disease, tuberculosis and AIDS, as well as other diseases.
FDA Conducts Inquiry of Third-Party Servicing and Refurbishment of Medical Devices
October 26th 2016To help address the tough questions related to its inquiry into third-party servicing and refurbishment of medical devices, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scheduled a two-day public workshop for late October. Stakeholders are many and quite diverse, ranging from clinicians, patient safety managers and HTM professionals, to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and those aforementioned third-party firms; all of whom will be providing their perspectives on how to ensure patient safety while controlling costs in an environment where organizations vary in how they repair and generally maintain devices.
UK and France See Highest Number of Imported Malaria Cases
October 25th 2016An international study led by the University of Southampton shows the UK and France experience the highest number of malaria cases imported from other countries. Research led by WorldPop, based at the University, examined and mapped the movement of the disease from endemic countries (those where malaria is regularly found in the population) to around 40 countries defined as being malaria-free or non-endemic (such as the UK).