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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.