Decontamination News and Research

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Few strategies exist to prevent MRSA spread in nursing homes

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureu (MRSA) is making news as a dangerous, sometimes fatal disease for hospital patients, and in recent cases, students.

24 Jan 2008

Merck Serono's Cyanokit approved in Europe

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for its product Cyanokit (active substance: hydroxocobalamin) for the treatment of known or suspected cyanide poisoning in both adults and the pediatric population.

3 Dec 2007

Scientists examine eons-old water for microorganisms

Researchers from the University of Delaware and the University of California at Riverside have thawed ice estimated to be at least a million years old from above Lake Vostok, an ancient lake that lies hidden more than two miles beneath the frozen surface of Antarctica.

27 Nov 2007

New Zeiss microscope peers into secret lives of cells

“See those white sparks?” asks Kirk Czymmek, as he points to the video on his computer screen of a highly magnified heart cell in action.

21 Nov 2007

Australian doctor awarded for uncovering smallpox bioterrorism risk

A University of Sydney professor who developed a system to combat bioterrorism has received a major award from the US military.

18 Sep 2007

Threat of MRSA superbug under-estimated

According to the Center for Disease Control in the United States (CDC), MRSA (Methicillin-Associated Staphylococcus Aureus) infections continue to be a concern for hospitals worldwide and now account for more than 50% of hospital-acquired Staphylococcus aureus infections.

26 Jun 2007

System to identify air travel passengers responsible for the unintentional release of germs

Researchers developing a system that uses mathematical models and sensors to locate passengers releasing hazardous materials or pathogens inside airline cabins have shown that the technique can track a substance to an area the size of a single seat.

24 May 2007

Health early warning system through satellite telecoms

When emergency teams are well informed and governments can coordinate their efforts, lives and property can be saved.

10 May 2007

Sandia decon formulation, best known as an anthrax killer, takes on household mold

A product based on a technology originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories is now available on the shelves of hardware stores across the country.

27 Apr 2007

UNISON vows to step up fight against privatisation

Health workers will not sit idly by and watch their health service being dismantled, 'marketised' and sold off to become a pale reflections of the US health system, where the balance sheet matters more than patients' needs.

24 Apr 2007

USAID strengthens fight against avian influenza globally

The U.S. Government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a one- year, $19 million project to provide critical commodities to fight avian influenza.

2 Apr 2007

Health Protection Agency updates on Holton avian flu outbreak

Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) has now completed the first stage of the public health follow up in relation to the outbreak of avian flu on a poultry farm in Holton, Suffolk.

6 Mar 2007

Update on investigation of workers involved in the Holton avian flu outbreak

Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) has now completed the first stage of the public health follow up in relation to the outbreak of avian flu on a poultry farm in Holton, Suffolk.

27 Feb 2007

New treatment technique for decontaminating flood water

Engineers have developed a system that uses a simple water purification technique that can eliminate 100 percent of the microbes in New Orleans water samples left from Hurricane Katrina. The technique makes use of specialized resins, copper and hydrogen peroxide to purify tainted water.

10 Jan 2007

USAID Administrator Randall Tobias on bird flu spread

In the past year, the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus moved rapidly outside of Southeast Asia and spread into Europe, Eurasia, and Africa.

21 Sep 2006

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital learning from 9/11

With the nation's busiest burn center and the metropolitan area's largest hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fleet, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rescued and treated many survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

7 Sep 2006

Hospitals, local governments have more work to do to prepare for disasters

Hospitals and local governments since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been working to improve disaster preparedness and better equip their facilities to handle large surges of patients, though for "all the progress in improving readiness, experts warn that there is still a long way to go," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Sep 2006

Space technology to help hospitals contain spread of avian flu infection

In response to concerns from hospitals to prepare for eventual pandemic flu outbreaks, the French company AirInSpace, with support from ESA's Technology Transfer Programme, has successfully adapted technology developed to protect astronauts for use in critical care centres to protect immune-deficient patients against airborne pathogens such as the avian flu virus.

10 May 2006

Anthrax killed by protein that explodes cell walls

Not all biological weapons are created equal. They are separated into categories A through C, category A biological agents being the scariest: They are easy to spread, kill effectively and call for special actions by the pubic health system. One of these worrisome organisms is anthrax, which has already received its fair share of media attention. But work in Vince Fischetti's laboratory at Rockefeller University suggests that a newly discovered protein could be used to fight anthrax infections and even decontaminate areas in which anthrax spores have been released.

26 Apr 2006