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HD MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Read HD Magazine article online here. |
MRSA STATISTICS ONLINE
View MRSA statistics online here. |
An Innovative New Joint Venture Announced
ECTG Ltd., the leaders in water disinfection technology have recenty announced the launch of Cannon Ecaflo™ ( UK ) Ltd – an exciting new joint venture with Cannon Hygiene (UK).
Pioneers in the continuing development of the science of electrochemical activation ( ECA ), ECTG have combined their expertise in harnessing ECA’s remarkable sterilising properties with Cannon’s market experience and logistics support.
Bringing revolutionary solutions to the increasingly difficult areas of infection control, water treatment and decontamination, Cannon Ecaflo™ will offer a range of devices for the generation of ecologically safe, Ecasol for a variety of applications including sanitisation, sterilisation, disinfection and water treatment. These devices are available to the UK market at present.
Cannon Ecaflo™’s innovative and environmentally friendly cleaning and water treatment solutions are built around the Ecaflo™ technology developed by ECTG Chairman Professor Vitold Bakhir of the Russian Research and Scientific Institute for Medical Engineering.
ECTG Ltd.'s CEO Edmond O’Reilly said, “ECA technology was first developed by ECTG’s scientific team. We have long been committed to exploring and utilising the scientifically proven benefits of this exciting technology."
“By working in partnership with Cannon, we have ensured that our progress and success will expand into the many sectors where this technology can be best employed.”
Cannon managing director Oliver Weisflog welcomed the new partnership, commenting: “The formation of Cannon Ecaflo™ represents a milestone in both Cannon and ECTG’s history. By taking a genuinely innovative and technologically unique cleaning system and combining it with over 50 years of market knowledge, Cannon Ecaflo™ could well revolutionise infection control.”
“I am therefore extremely pleased to be adding Cannon’s support to this exciting venture and I look forward to a successful and unique partnership.”
Cannon Ecaflo™ premiered at the Hospital Hygiene Conference at the Excel Centre in London on 16th and 17th March 2006. |
EFSA DELIVERS OPINION ON HARMFUL FOODBORNE BACTERIA
EFSA scientific experts tackle the presence of harmful foodborne bacteria Clostridium perfringens and C. botulinum, compiling an opinion on the risk these spore-forming bacteria pose.
Anaerobic bacteria spoil a wide range of foods including dairy products, meat and poultry products, fresh and canned fruits and vegetables: typically producing gas and putrid odours, with a few of causing illness.
The species of the genus Clostridium most commonly involved in food-borne illness are Clostridium perfringens and C. botulinum.
Intoxication due to C. perfringens is usually brief, self-limiting, and is rarely fatal, says EFSA.
However, the neurotoxins of C. botulinum are among the most toxic naturally-occurring substances and cause severe foodborne illness, sometimes fatal, with symptoms continuing for several months.
Clostridia occur commonly in soil, dust, the aquatic environment and in the intestines of animals, and can consequently be present in a wide range of foods.
C. perfringens is commonly present in foods and ingredients, occasionally at hundreds per gram. C. botulinum is present less frequently, normally at a few spores per kilogramme.
According to the EFSA BIOHAZ panel of scientists, the most essential measures to prevent foodborne diseases caused by C. perfringens are: appropriate cooking, cooling rapidly through the temperature range 55°C to 15°C, holding foods at temperatures between 10°-12°C, and re-heating the product to an internal temperature of 72°C before consumption.
But, they warn: “microbiological testing for C. perfringens has limited value in ensuring food safety, because the organism is so common in or on foods that a positive result means little, unless very high numbers are present.
Moreover, cultural methods detect all C. perfringens, while enterotoxin is produced by only a fraction of strains."
C. botulinum, or botulism as it is frequently known as, is less common. Botulism occurs after ingestion of a neurotoxin formed when spores of C. botulinum type A, B, E or F germinate and multiply in a food.
The EFSA scientists point out that botulism has even occurred after a person, suspecting a food might be spoiled, merely tasted the food after dipping one finger into it.
Theu underline that "toxins of C. botulinum are relatively sensitive to heat and are inactivated by heating at 80°C for 10 min or an equivalent process."
BIOHAZ further underlines that laboratory detection methods for C. botulinum “are not suited to routine food microbiology laboratories” because it is necessary to test for the neurotoxin, and special safety precautions are necessary.
"Hence, testing for C. botulinum and its toxins is not recommended.
Good Hygienic Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices should be built into control of the process, with particular attention paid to the formulation (recipe), the heating process, the storage temperature and the intended duration of storage," suggests the panel.
Please contact ECTG Ltd. for further details on how we can assist in the fight against harmful bacteria.
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UK REGULATOR SETS TARGET FOR CAMPYLOBACTER CRACKDOWN
With up to 76 per cent of UK chickens testing positive for Campylobacter, processors and their suppliers will soon be facing a food safety crackdown from the country's regulator.
The process will mean greater costs for UK food processors as they implement new measures and increased screening and cleaning techniques to reach the target. The problem is prevalent throughout the EU.
In a consultation document published yesterday the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) proposed reducing that level by 50 per cent in 2010, noting that it would be targeting the start of the supply chain first then moving through food processing and on to the retail level.
The FSA's proposed target of 50 per cent reduction would apply only to UK-produced chickens, which runs against the advice of a committee report to the FSA last month. The advisory committee said any measures introduced by the FSA should also apply to imports.
The committee also said an effective programme at broiler farms and improving hygiene standards at slaughter could enable contamination levels to be reduced to at least 25 per cent over the next two years.
In 2002, the UK imported about 350,000 tonnes of poultry meat, of which about 45,000 tonnes was from outside the EU.
And the high level set as a reduction target set by the FSA contrasts with the relatively low levels of Campylobacter targets set by other EU countries.
FSA supplied data shows that Norway was able to reduce Campylobacter found in its flocks to 7.6 per cent in 2002 from 18 per cent in 1991. Sweden was able to reduce levels to 9.9 per cent in 2000 from 13.3 per cent in 1992, Denmark to 35 per cent in 2003 from 43 per cent the year before and the Netherlands to 35 per cent in 2000 from 48 per cent in 1998.
The Campylobacter campaign is part of the FSA's policy to reduce the incidence of all foodborne disease, including Salmonella, by 20 per cent by April 2006. Campylobacter is currently the biggest cause of food poisoning in the UK. A significant reduction in human campylobacteriosis would help the agency achieve its goal.
When the FSA was formed it set a target to reduce Salmonella in UK-produced chicken by 50 per cent by 2006. A recent FSA survey of retail chicken showed that about six per cent of chickens were contaminated with Salmonella, compared with the 20 per cent or greater rates of contamination found in earlier surveys.
A series of FSA's surveys between 2001 and 2004 showed that between 42 per cent and 76 per cent of retail chickens were contaminated with Campylobacter depending on the region. The highest rate was found in Northern Ireland and the lowest in Wales.
Other available data shows that Campylobacter levels in the UK flock have remained fairly constant, perhaps with a slight reduction, over recent years, the FSA stated.
From January 2006 processing plants will be sampling neck skins and testing for Salmonella to comply with the microbiological criteria regulations. The regulator also proposes testing the samples for Campylobacter as a measure of progress towards the target. The bid to reducing Campylobacter in chickens will cover the primary production, food processing, distribution and service sectors, the FSA said.
Campylobacter infection may cause sicknesses ranging from mild diarrhoea lasting 24 hours to severe illness lasting more than a week. The incubation period is typically two to five days. Long-term infection may lead to neurological, rheumatological and renal problems in humans.
"Given the prevalence of Campylobacter in poultry, and knowing how easily pathogens can persist and spread in the domestic and catering environments, we believe that reducing the level of the organism in poultry meat is likely to make a significant contribution to the battle against human foodborne illness," the FSA advisory committee on the problem stated last month.
The committee also noted that "similar measures to those designed to reduce Campylobacter in UK broiler production also need to be introduced into supply chains where the source material is outside the UK".
According to calculated extrapolations by Australian technology company Adviware, about 553,958 people were estimated to have fallen ill from Campylobacter during 2004 in the UK, 555,369 in France, 757,579 in Germany and 533,616 in Italy.
Chicken is a leading cause of food poisioning in the EU. This week 2138 cases of salmonella gastroenteritis were reported in Spain. The cases were linked to a single brand of pre-cooked, vacuum-packed roast chicken, which was commercially distributed throughout Spain.
The Spanish regulator has prevented further sale of the brand.
Please contact ECTG Ltd. for further details on how we can assist in the fight against poultry infection.
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POULTRY CAMPYLOBACTER SOURCE FOUND IN LUNGS
The source of the bacterium Campylobacter on poultry farms and in processing plants probably lies in the birds' lungs, according to research by two scientists, reports Ahmed ElAmin.
The bacteria can contaminate live chickens during production or transport, or carcasses during scalding. In either case, Campylobacter moves to contaminate respiratory air sacs and could then contaminate the abdominal cavity, said three scientists working for the US Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
Microbiologists Mark Berrang and Richard Meinersmann and animal physiologist Richard Buhr studied campylobacter before and after chicken carcasses were scalded to remove feathers, an integral step in poultry processing.
In a commercial processing plant, researchers collected ten carcasses on each of three days, before and after scalding. They rinsed the entire carcasses and respiratory tracts and took samples for Campylobacter, E. coli and other bacteria.
The results showed the same type of Campylobacter were in the carcass and respiratory tract samples. The number and type of Campylobacter in the respiratory tracts remained the same before and after scalding, the scientists found.
“This suggests the respiratory tract is an important source of Campylobacter contamination in the interior of the carcass before scalding,” they conclude.
The airborne bacteria could be inhaled by the live birds during production or transport, meaning significant levels of the bacteria were already in their respiratory tracts before processing, they state.
Campylobacter is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrheal illness in the US. The bacteria causes campylobacteriosis in humans and can result in diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within two to five days after exposure to the organism.
Some persons who are infected with Campylobacter don't have any symptoms at all, according to the US department of health.
In persons who are already ill, Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream and causes a serious life-threatening infection.
Campylobacteriosis is estimated to affect about million persons every year in the US, or 0.5% of the general population.
Please contact ECTG Ltd. for further details on how we can assist in the fight against poultry infection.
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NEW LAW FOR HOSPITALS
Hospitals accused of doing little or nothing to tackle the spread of superbugs such as MRSA may in the future be compelled by legislation to act to maintain higher standards, Irish Minister for Heath Mary Harney has said.
If legislation were introduced it could result in hospitals being prosecuted for failing to keep proper standards.
The Minister has also indicated she wants somebody "very senior" in all hospitals to take responsibility for hygiene, which is a major factor in the spread of hospital-acquired infections. MRSA, for example, survives in dust and can be spread from one patient to another by staff failing to wash their hands.
The time may also have come, she added, for facilities to be provided for visitors to hospitals to wash their hands before entering the premises.
"In my last job [as Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment] I saw companies operate to much higher standards than operate in many of our hospitals and it's not acceptable," Ms Harney said.
She was speaking to reporters following her address to delegates attending the annual conference of the Irish College of General Practitioners in Galway on Saturday.
Asked if she would meet MRSA and Families, a new lobby group campaigning for what it calls the veil of secrecy over the spread of the potentially fatal MRSA bug in hospitals to be lifted, the Minister confirmed she would.
She added however, that she did not need them to impress on her the importance of dealing with the issue.
"I know only too well how important it is . . . one of the first things I asked Pat McLoughlin to do as the new head of the hospitals office was to deal with the hygiene issue and the audit is underway now, the most effective way of dealing with this issue is to encourage medical practitioners to wash their hands and I think we need to go beyond that and encourage visitors - and provide facilities for visitors - to wash their hands.
"You couldn't walk into a food plant for example the way you can walk into a hospital and it is very serious," she said.
"In fact we may well in time look at legislation in this area. I know the UK are examining bringing in legislation around standards where you mandate healthcare settings, particularly hospitals, to operate to particular standards and that's something I think that we need to give consideration to in Ireland. "In other words that you would have legislative standards that you'd have to meet. We shouldn't have to go the route of legislation in order to have hospitals run to the highest possible standards but if it takes legislation then legislation it will be," she added.
"It is a shame that in the world of modern business higher standards are required sometimes by law but many more times because the businesses know both how they must operate in order to succeed and satisfy their customers and in many of our hospitals something as basic as hygiene is ignored," she continued.
There were around 500 cases of MRSA infections reported by hospitals last year. The bug lives on the skin of many people without causing any problem but if it gets into the bloodstream - which it can do in patients with open wounds after surgery - it can be very painful and can even prove fatal.
Members of MRSA and families claim hospitals are far too blase about its spread and something urgent needs to be done to stop more patients becoming infected.
Please contact ECTG Ltd. for further details on how we can assist in the fight against MRSA.
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OAP LEGIONNAIRE'S DEATH IN HOSPITAL
A retired nurse from Hellingly died of legionnaires' disease after catching the killer bug from a hospital hair salon. Kathleen Soffe, 79, contracted the disease from a shower unit, which had not been used for a few days.
She developed severe pneumonia after the visit and died in May 2004. The salon at the psychiatric ward at the DGH has since been closed. Dr Keith Ramesar, DGH pathologist, told an inquest that Mrs Soffe had severe pneumonia and an enlarged heart. He said she had been in hospital for around a month before she passed away but Dr Ramesar said that people with a suppressed immune system or any sort of chronic disease were less likely to survive from legionnaires' disease.
The inquest heard that Mrs Soffe had been dogged by ill health most of her life. She contracted diphtheria in 1940 and arthritis in 1994 before getting pneumonia in 1997. The inquest also heard that Mrs Soffe had twice been admitted to the Heathfield Ward after trying to harm herself.
Dr Peter Wilkinson from the Health Protection Agency said legionella, the bug that causes the disease, was found in the showerhead at the salon. David Philliskirk, director of facilities for East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, said it was the hospital which was responsible for the maintenance of the plumbing every month. It was, at the time, East Sussex County Healthcare Trust's responsibility to check the pipes every week.
He said, “We believe it was the water systems that caused the infection. A check was done on the whole hospital including the department of psychiatry in 2002. Mr Philliskirk added that the Trust, together with Eastbourne Downs County Healthcare Trust, which is responsible for the DGH's psychiatric ward, had followed recommended guidelines to control the bug. He said both Trusts had rigorously increased their monitoring of the water systems at the hospital.
But Mr Philliskirk told the inquest that the amount of legionella found in the showerhead was not a high level. Coroner Alan Craze recorded a verdict of accidental death. He said, “This was a tragic accident. I do not regard this so much as being a hospital-acquired infection. It occurred in a hairdressing salon, which was an adjunct of the hospital and not part of its core service. I am satisfied that the two Trusts did have an adequate system in place before Mrs Soffe's death.”
“It is a naturally occurring organism. It is like MRSA and you will never prevent it. It is a question of controlling it. It is very much to the hospital's credit that since the incident it has reviewed all its areas of activity and improved even more the systems in place. The public as a whole should be aware of the dangers of this bacterium. It may be rare but it kills and it could be lurking in any shower unit.”
Please contact ECTG Ltd. for further details on how we can assist in the fight against Legionnaire's Disease.
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