Infection control
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 11 
 on: September 05, 2007, 01:17:15 pm 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
Anubis Consulting Ltd are  one of the UKs leading specialists in infection control
We provide full infection control training and documentation which is statutory and mandatory under the Health and Safety at Work act and COSHH regulations.
Information and guidance on Pandemic planning is included in the training and we provide a range of approved products to assist in infection control and the effective control of the H5N1 virus.
In addition we can recommend and approved supplier a full range of consumables, equipment and paper disposables.

Please email info@anubisconsulting.co.uk
Website: www.anubisconsulting.co.uk

 12 
 on: August 19, 2007, 05:37:51 am 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
This is not necessarily a funeral or embalming issue but it is quite interesting.

'Councils are being bullied by the Government into axing weekly rubbish collections, despite this clearly being against the public's wishes. People don't want bags of rubbish hanging around for days on end, bringing bad smells and attracting vermin' -- Eric Pickles, Tory Environment spokesman

Unfortunately too many councils are abusing the public trust, using recycling as an excuse to cut public service costs, whilst at the same time pushing local taxes up year-on-year at rates at least double that of the prevailing rate of inflation. There are seven major points to be carefully considered

(1) The new report, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, found rubbish left out for longer periods produced tens of thousands more spores. Dr Tom Kosatsky, a medical epidemiologist at McGill University in Montreal , said: "If rubbish is decaying for two weeks and is heated by warm weather, it provides a fertile breeding ground for spores. Exposure to fungi on this level can trigger sore throats, respiratory symptoms, faintness, weakness and depression, asthma and other allergic reactions."

(2) In the 13-week study academics at the University of Northampton swabbed wheelie bins that had held waste for two weeks. Results showed a raft of potentially deadly bacteria, including crippling stomach bugs like salmonella, e.coli, legionella and listeria. Rotting food also proved a fertile breeding ground for flies.
Recent investigations have shown the presence in dustbins of Yersinia pestis also called Pasteurella pestis, a bacterium that causes the black plague and is generally transmitted from rats to humans by the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis.

(3) An increase in disease spread by the fly population. To look at one simple fact, the rate of breeding. If all the eggs laid by a housefly were to mature, then one fly could have 320,000 grandchildren. Fortunately only a small proportion of eggs survive, but enough do to become an intolerable nuisance - and a serious threat to health.

The common housefly, more than any other flying insect is such a menace because it is a dirty feeder. The housefly has an extraordinary and unique habit: it alternates between filth and clean food, generally human food. Every meal consists of two courses: one course is any kind of garbage, often sewage: for the second course the favourite dishes are milk, sugar or anything sweet or fatty. Among the pathogens commonly transmitted by house flies are Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Escherichia, Enterococcus, Chlamydia, and many other species that cause illness. These flies are most commonly linked to outbreaks of diarrhoea and shigellosis, but also are implicated in transmission of food poisoning, typhoid fever, dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, ophthalmia, and parasitic worms

(4) An unacceptable result is an increase in the rat population. Based on returns from over 300 local councils, there has been a 69% increase in vermin infestation. The National Pest Technicians Association puts the problem down to fortnightly refuse collection and associated problems of overflowing bins, fly-tipping, rubbish left at the side of bins and the growing problem of junk food dropped in the street.

(5) During the hot summer the increase in bad smells from rubbish decaying in bins The advice from a government quango to councils is to introduce fortnightly waste collection in the winter so as to minimise the smell and lessen public opposition.
This advice flies in the face of advice from the WHO which recommends in temperate climates like the UK waste should be collected at least once a week.

(6) HANDLING rubbish that has been left out for a fortnight before being collected can increase the risk of health problems including asthma and nausea, a study has found. Researchers found that the level of bacteria and fungal spores in the air above bins that had not been emptied for two weeks was more than 10 times that in locations where there was a weekly collection. Exposure to these conditions could put the health of operatives at risk

(7) Another result of the fortnightly collection is a dramatic increase in fly-tipping. Obviously someone has to cover the cost of fly-tipping collection. Lord Rooker, the environment minister, said "Councils that introduce fortnightly rubbish collection will have to have a programme to tackle fly-tipping," He was concerned that there had been an increase in fly-tipping where collections were fortnightly.

A full microbiological risk assessment is necessary to ensure public safety before contemplating any change to the refuse collection system

 13 
 on: August 04, 2007, 07:20:20 am 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
 New fears of 'fatal bug' threat

A further 32,707 cases in Scotland and Wales were not reported to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) because it only covers England , the MP says in the report C-Difficile - The Complete Germ Map of Britain.

Figures he obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that C.difficile infects more than eight times as many people in British hospitals as MRSA and kills twice as many.

The infection causes diarrhoea ranging from mild cases to severe illness and can be fatal. Elderly patients treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics are at the greatest risk.

This first comprehensive study of the bug across Britain reveals the "true extent" and "shocking reality" of the C.difficile epidemic in British hospitals, the MP claims.

He said: "This investigation reveals that the number of C-Diff cases in Britain 's hospitals has been dramatically underestimated with the Government simply ignoring anyone who contracts the infection, but happens to be under the age of 65.

"I'm calling on the Government to recognise and then get to grips with the true scale of the problem.

"The Government is constantly trying to convince us that the NHS is safe in their hands, but C-Diff infections continue to rise across the entire age range and are up by over 40% in the last three years alone."

He added: "It is an absolute scandal that I had to go these lengths to get the true figures revealed."

Cases of MRSA are around 7,000 a year and falling, but figures show C.difficile is a growing problem as the rate of infections continues to soar, his study claims.

There were 66,005 more cases last year compared to 47,034 in 2004 and official figures for 2006 show 4,752 people died from it - compared to 1,774 from MRSA .

This is a rise of 25% on the previous year and a massive increase of 111% since 2004, with 181 cases now a day, the report says.

Over the past three years, 176,450 have contracted the bug after going into hospitals for routine procedures.

The HPA's previous requirement for statistics only in the over-65s meant more than 25,000 were not officially recorded between 2004 and 2006, according to the study.

Mandatory surveillance of the infection was introduced in England in 2004 but it was only in April this year that Acute NHS Trusts were told to report all cases to the HPA, it says.

Reporting cases of C.difficile in Scotland and Wales was voluntary until recently but there is still an upward trend in the number of infections. There were around 5,000 in Scotland in 2005, a 21% increase on the previous year, the study shows.

A mandatory surveillance system is currently being introduced but will only apply to over-65s. In Wales , a mandatory system has been in operation since January 2005 but again only applies to the over-65s.

Mr Shapps used Freedom of Information requests to every Acute Trust in England to obtain the results of all reported C.difficile cases.

Desk research was used to get the figures for Scotland and Wales .

 14 
 on: April 15, 2007, 08:54:39 am 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
You will have seen a great deal about the use of alcohol hand sanitisers in the NHS as part of the battle to reduce Hospital Aquired Infections.
It's not that straightforward an issue and I'll try and flag up some of the basic principals here.
There's been a rush of new products being sold but care needs to be taken as most them aren't fully effective, they haven't been independently tested and accredited and they can be rough on your hands which discourages proper use.
Here are some pointers.
1. Only used a product that is approved to the european standard EN1500. This is important. These products have been proven to remove all major pathogens in under 30 seconds. If they don't have this standard they probably don't work effectively.
2. Wearing gloves is only partially effective. The reason is that if you have bugs on you hands before you put them on they breed inside the glove. You should sanitise your hands before you put them on.
3. Washing is only partially effective and although you should wash to remove contamination such as blood or dirt even bactericidal hand soap only removes about 65% of bugs. You should, however only use alcohol sanitiser on visibly clean hands as sanitisers aren't designed to clean, only sanitise.
4. Only use alcohol sanitisers that contain skin conditioners as the cheaper ones dry your hands and discourage proper use.
5. Always try and remember to think 'what have I just done and what am I going to do next'? If in any doubt sanitise your hands.
6. Learn how to use the products correctly it's easy to miss bits and you may still have bugs on your hands.

You can email me and I'll send you the proper method. info@anubishealthcare.com or download the information directly from this link: http://www.anubishealthcare.com/pdf/handsani.pdf

 15 
 on: April 15, 2007, 08:48:48 am 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
According to the Health Protection Agency there were 106 cases of PVL-MRSA in England and Wales in 2005.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23382354-details/Scientists+unravel+superbug+that+kills+in+24+hours/article.do

 16 
 on: April 15, 2007, 08:45:48 am 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
You will have seen that this particular bug has been in the news lately.

Here is some information that may be useful.

1.   It is a bacterium that is part of the normal flora of the gut in 3% of adults and is usually kept under control by the other bacteria in the gut.

2.   Problems occur when there is an imbalance between the bacteria in the gut, this can happen when taking a course of antibiotics.

3.   As Clostridium difficile forms spores, it can survive for long periods in hospital wards contaminating the environment, equipment and hands of staff and patients resulting in cross-infection and outbreaks of infection.

4.   Symptoms include explosive watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fever.

5.   These symptoms usually resolve if the course of antibiotics is stopped.

6.   Clostridium difficile can be treated with other antibiotics.

7.   Standard infection control precautions, along with transmission-based precautions, should be taken to prevent cross-infection between patients.

8.   Cleaning of the environment is essential to reduce the risk of cross-infection.

9.   Activ8 is proven to be effective and should be used as part of a cleaning protocol, removing spores surviving in the environment.

10.   ALWAYS WASH OR SANITISE YOUR HANDS.

 17 
 on: April 15, 2007, 08:24:14 am 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
This makes interesting reading and it's also a good source of information.
http://www.noroblog.com/articles/-norovirus-watch

 18 
 on: April 12, 2007, 03:45:04 am 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
During the short time we worked to eradicate Norovirus from the large hotel mentioned in an earlier posting we have achieved notable success. The general manager believes we saved the hotel £150000 in lost bookings and they had full occupancy of 530 guests over the Easter period. During that time there was not a single incidence of Norovirus infection. On any level this is a success story and it proves that our methods and products must be effective. For more information please phone 01226 741812 or email: info@anubishealthcare.com

 19 
 on: April 06, 2007, 12:11:41 pm 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
We have established a new forum specifically for Norovirus issues.
Please join and help develop it.
http://norovirus.smfforfree2.com

 20 
 on: April 03, 2007, 06:15:50 pm 
Started by Anubis2 - Last post by Anubis2
Welcome to the forum. As a member you can make posts, create topics and advertise if you wish. This forum will be moderated however as long as it's nothing inappropriate you can use as and when you like.
We will keep it up to date and informative and if you have an enquiry or you wish to ask a specific question please do it here.

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