Hygiene News and Research

RSS

Community superbug a growing menace

A strain of the superbug MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is causing concern across the U.S. because it is becoming more common in the wider community.

11 Sep 2007

A little dirt never hurt!

A little dirt never hurt. But in today's super-clean world, vaccinations, anti-bacterial soaps, and airtight doors and windows are keeping dirt and disease-causing germs at bay.

5 Sep 2007

Experts call for more resources worldwide to deal with mental illness

Experts in Britain are calling for better recognition of the impact of mental illness on other health problems and for more resources worldwide to deal with mental health issues.

5 Sep 2007

Global health community must act on mental health

The global public health community must take action to scale up services for mental disorders, especially in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries, according to a team of public health experts writing in the Lancet.

4 Sep 2007

Pregnant women exposed to passive smoking are more likely to have sleep disturbances

Pregnant women exposed to passive smoking are more likely to have sleep disturbances such as subjective insufficient sleep, difficulty in initiating sleep, short sleep duration, and snoring loudly or breathing uncomfortably, according to a study published in the September 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

3 Sep 2007

A mysterious illness in the Congo has experts scratching their heads

A mysterious illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experts scratching their heads.

3 Sep 2007

Canadian dental hygiene celebrates independence

Dental hygienists have achieved independence after a 14-year campaign to remove the restrictions that tie dental hygiene to dentistry.

3 Sep 2007

Carbon nanotubes to fight E. coli

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can kill bacteria like the common pathogen E. coli by severely damaging their cell walls, according to a recent report from Yale researchers in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Langmuir.

30 Aug 2007

Report on access to cancer drugs across Europe flawed

A leading epidemiologist has attacked Swedish research that looked at inequalities in patients' access to cancer drugs across Europe and the world.

30 Aug 2007

Report describes 2004 Norwalk virus outbreak

A review of measures taken to address a 2004 outbreak of the highly infectious Norwalk virus at The Johns Hopkins Hospital has provided the first solid documentation of expenses and efforts in the United States to stop the infection from spreading among patients, staff and visitors.

30 Aug 2007

Natural antimicrobial agents for food safety

Two items high on the list of public concerns are the need for greater food safety and a growing demand for natural or organic food products.

22 Aug 2007

E.coli scare in UK now affects nine people

The E.coli outbreak in Paisley, Scotland has now affected nine people; one woman has died and three more remain in a serious condition while the other five are said to be recovering.

20 Aug 2007

New model to predict the spread of a 'super-bug' in L.A. county jail

Researchers at UCLA have developed a mathematical model that mimics a particularly nasty and ongoing outbreak in the Los Angeles County Jail (LACJ) of the flesh eating bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus.

17 Aug 2007

Special nasal cream will bust deadly superbugs

A special cream enriched with bacteria-busting viruses has been developed by scientists in Britain and it could eradicate deadly superbugs such as MRSA from hospitals.

13 Aug 2007

Hospital kitchens - a pretty dirty affair

With reports on a regular basis telling us that controlling superbugs such as MRSA in many hospitals is akin to fighting a losing battle, the last thing the public want to hear is that hospital kitchens are filthy.

13 Aug 2007

Link between stress and periodontal diseases

A literature review published in the August issue of the Journal of Periodontology (JOP) saw a strong relationship between stress and periodontal diseases; 57% of the studies included in the review showed a positive relationship between periodontal diseases and psychological factors such as stress, distress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

9 Aug 2007

Medic to sue Gaddafi for holding him hostage

One of the six medics imprisoned by Libyan authorities for allegedly deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, plans to sue Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi.

6 Aug 2007

Many Americans make bad decisions based on bad information about cancer

A new study from American Cancer Society researchers finds a surprising number of Americans believe scientifically unsubstantiated claims concerning cancer, and that population segments suffering the greatest burden of cancer are the most likely to be misinformed.

27 Jul 2007

Long-term herpes treatment may reduce HIV infectivity

Long-term anti-herpes treatment of women infected with both HIV and HSV2, the virus that causes genital herpes, may reduce the proportion of women with detectable HIV virus in their genital secretions according to the results of a trial in Tanzania presented the International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney.

26 Jul 2007

Latest MRSA bloodstream infections and Clostridium difficile figures

Latest figures for MRSA show there was a 6.4% fall in the number of cases of blood stream infection reported to the Health Protection Agency from January - March 2007.

26 Jul 2007