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Major gaps found in existing evidence for best practices for cleaning hospital room surfaces to prevent HAIs

Tray tables, bed rails, light switches, and toilets: All are common vectors for swapping germs between patients and health care workers. While a new systematic overview in this week's Annals of Internal Medicine points to several promising cleaning tactics of these "high-touch surfaces," there's a lack of evidence as to which is the most effective at reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

11 Aug 2015

Legal-Bay reports that death toll from Legionnaires' disease outbreak in South Bronx rises to 7

Legal-Bay LLC, The Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company, reports that in the tragic Legionnaires' disease outbreak sweeping the South Bronx, 81 cases have been reported as of now, with a total of 7 people dead as a result. According to NYC health officials, 81 cases have been reported in total, with 64 of those requiring hospitalization, and the death roll has recently risen to 7.

10 Aug 2015

Potentially harmful bacteria can survive on endoscopes despite cleaning and disinfecting process

Potentially harmful bacteria can survive on endoscopes used to examine the interior of the digestive tract, despite a multi-step cleaning and disinfecting process, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

6 Aug 2015

Teen scientist finds solution to tackle water quality issues

For some of us it was an exciting time of creative experimentation. For others it was a time of botched and badly displayed data. For 16-year-old Maria Elena Grimmett, it's a blast. And she isn't peddling baking soda and vinegar volcanoes. Grimmett is tackling serious water quality issues that threaten the health of rivers, streams and groundwater. When she was just 14 years old, Grimmett was the youngest person published in the Journal of Environmental Quality.

31 Jul 2015

Recycling older electronic devices increases exposure to lead, creates health concern

The disposal and recycling of electronic devices has increased exposure to lead and other toxicants and created "an emerging health concern," according to a pediatrician who directs the Environmental Health and Lead Clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

29 Jul 2015

Sphere Medical publishes white paper discussing areas where Proxima mitigates sources of pre-analytical errors

Sphere Medical, innovator in critical care monitoring and diagnostics equipment, has published a white paper focusing on the mitigation of common pre-analytical errors associated with arterial blood gas analysis.

28 Jul 2015

Study: New material that mimics coral could help remove toxic heavy metals from the ocean

A new material that mimics coral could help remove toxic heavy metals like mercury from the ocean, according to a new study published in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. The researchers, from Anhui Jianzhu University in China, say their new material could provide inspiration for other approaches to removing pollutants.

25 Jul 2015

Researchers discover first fully synthetic substrate with potential to grow billions of stem cells

If you experience a major heart attack the damage could cost you around five billion heart cells. Future stem cell treatments will require this number and more to ensure those cells are replaced and improve your chances of survival.

25 Jul 2015

EKF Diagnostics launches new clinical chemistry analyzer at AACC 2015

EKF, announces international launch of the Altair™ 240 clinical chemistry analyzer at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry’s.

From EKF Diagnostics 23 Jul 2015

ForeverGreen Worldwide earns BSCG's anti-doping certification for PowerStrips

ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation, a leading direct marketing company and provider of health-centered products, today announced the company has received an anti-doping certification from the Banned Substances Control Group for PowerStrips, indicating the product is free of banned substances.

14 Jul 2015

Laser microdissection microscope series with LED for transmitted light launched by Leica Microsystems

Leica Microsystems has launched two instruments of the laser microdissection microscope series, the Leica LMD6 and the LMD7, with LED illumination for transmitted light. Users can now choose between halogen and LED illumination. LEDs are an energy-efficient light source providing homogenous illumination and a constant color temperature.

From Leica Microsystems GmbH 13 Jul 2015

OBP Medical introduces CLEAR-TRAC family of disposable surgical retractors

OBP Medical, the leading global developer of single-use, self-contained, illuminating medical devices, today announced the launch of its CLEAR-TRAC family of disposable surgical retractors. The line—which includes CLEAR-TRAC SP (surgical pocket), CLEAR-TRAC V (vaginal) and new CLEAR-TRAC B (breast)—is the first on the market to offer a built-in, single-use light source.

8 Jul 2015

Unique diagnostic test could help detect world's deadliest superbugs, infectious diseases

Infectious diseases such as hepatitis C and some of the world's deadliest superbugs--C. difficile and MRSA among them--could soon be detected much earlier by a unique diagnostic test, designed to easily and quickly identify dangerous pathogens.

7 Jul 2015

Study provides insights into the cause of irritable bowel syndrome

A team comprised of scientists at VIB, KU Leuven and UZ Leuven has made significant progress in uncovering the connection between psychological factors and the immune system. Their findings are based on an investigation of a massive drinking water contamination incident in Belgium in 2010, and are now published in the leading international medical journal Gut.

2 Jul 2015

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine publishes overview of MERS-CoV outbreak in Korea

An overview and analysis of the factors underlying the recent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in Korea has been published online ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

30 Jun 2015

New initiative aims to determine prevalence of contaminants in Detroit’s urban agriculture soil

Urban gardens are becoming more commonplace across Detroit and other major urban cities throughout the United States. These gardens offer a source of free or inexpensive healthy food for the public and educate community members about food production and rehabilitating the local ecosystem.

25 Jun 2015

TxCell’s pilot manufacturing facility activities put on temporary partial hold

TxCell SA, a biotechnology company developing innovative, personalized T cell immunotherapies using antigen specific regulatory T-cells for severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, announces today that it has temporarily put its pilot manufacturing facility activities at Besançon, France on partial hold.

24 Jun 2015

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics announces FDA approval of VITROS Chemistry Products HbA1c Reagent Kit for diagnosis of diabetes

Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the VITROS Chemistry Products HbA1c Reagent Kit to be used on the VITROS 5600 Integrated System, VITROS 4600 Chemistry System, and the VITROS 5,1 FS Chemistry System. The test can be used for the quantitative determination of percent glycated hemoglobin A1c (DCCT/NGSP) and mmol/mol hemoglobin A1c (IFCC) in human whole blood.

From Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. 22 Jun 2015

Survey finds first evidence of MRSA in sausages, minced pork from supermarkets in the UK

A survey carried out earlier this year has found the first evidence of the 'superbug' bacteria Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in sausages and minced pork obtained from supermarkets in the UK. However, researchers stress that this does not pose a significant immediate risk to the public.

19 Jun 2015

New review highlights strategies to inhibit infections during the laundering process of HCT

Proper laundering and handling are important in achieving and maintaining the hygienically-clean quality of healthcare fabrics and textiles delivered to the point of care, according to a new review that highlights evidence-based strategies to inhibit potentially serious contamination.