IAQ Applications: Natural Ventilation Use

The World Health Organization’s first infection control guideline to consider natural ventilation as a potentially effective measure to manage infections from a serious respiratory disease in health-care settings was published in 2007.1 Subsequently, WHO published “Natural Ventilation for Infection Control in Health-Care Settings,”2 which describes the basic principles of how to design, construct, operate and maintain an effective natural ventilation system.published_or_final_versio

The Nurse’s Role in the Perioperative Experience, with an Emphasis on Infection Control

The Nurse’s Role in the Perioperative Experience, with an Emphasis on Infection Control provides an overview of the registered nurse’s contribution to patient safety and infection prevention perioperatively. Each phase of the perioperative experience is outlined, from pre-operative events to PACU and discharge. Topics discussed include patient teaching, perioperative personnel roles, surgical disinfection measures, basic principles of sterile technique, post-operative complications and infection, and antibiotic therapy. The goal of this research paper is to inform readers about the importance of surgical infection control practices. In addition, the registered nurse is admonished to evaluate his/her practice, in order to serve more effectively as patient advocate

Antibacterial prophylaxis of surgical site infections in oral surgery: not only and not always systemic antibiotics

Antibacterial prophylaxis is a set of treatment measures, including antibiotic prophylaxis, under surgeon’s responsibility. If local measures are always to be applied, antibiotic prophylaxis administration needs a careful case selection in order to avoid indiscriminate prescription. Local measures include the following: use of sterile instrumentation and special devices to prevent surgical site contamination; good surgical treatment; pre-surgical treatment of acute local infections; pre-surgical calculus removal and perioperative plaque control; post-surgical follow-up. Antibiotic prophylaxis should follow the following five basic principles: only procedures that have high risk of infection need antibiotic prophylaxis; an adequate antibiotic should be chosen; a high dose of antibiotic should be used; the time of administration should be correct; antibiotic activity should be as short as possible

"Fear causes many diseases": a review of infection prevention and control measures in pre-Nightingale nursing

Infection prevention and control measures such as hand hygiene and environmental cleaning are used in health care to reduce the risk of transmitting infectious agents. The origin of many of these measures are credited to Florence Nightingale’s accomplishments in reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of British soldiers during the Crimean War and are found in her seminal book, Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not (1859). In Notes on Nursing, Nightingale highlighted the inextricable link between health and the sickroom environment and described basic infection prevention and control principles that should be adopted by the caregiver. While Notes on Nursing was never written for vocational nursing, these guiding principles later formed the basis of the Nightingale model for nursing training and are collectively referred to as nursing’s first theory on environmental health. Despite the continual reverence for Nightingale’s contribution to infection prevention and control, little is known about the genesis of her ideas presented in Notes on Nursing nor their influences. This presentation aims to address this gap by exploring the evolution of infection prevention and control measures in pre-Nightingale nursing. Digitised primary sources describing nursing practice between the sixteenth and midnineteenth centuries will be used to investigate the theoretical basis of early modern infection control principles used by nurses. These findings will then be used to critically examine the legitimacy of Nightingale’s unique contribution to the profession

HOMOEOPATHY IN AGRICULTURE

Homoeopathy medicines have been found to be effective in human organisms. Research and application of Homoeopathy drugs in agriculture is slowly finding place. The mode of action of Homoeopathy remedies and simillinum of drug pictures for use in agriculture; basic principles of Homoeopathy and drug administration are discussed. Significant results have been observed using Homoeopathy medicines to fight stress conditions during wet conditions; during hot and dry conditions; in improving germination and growth; to control pest, disease and viral infection, etc. on various crops have been reported

Review: Biological and Pharmacological Basis of Cytolytic Viral Activation in EBV-Associated Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection contributes to the development of different types of human malignancies, especially nasopharyngeal carcinoma. As a herpesvirus, EBV can establish two major modes of virus-cell interactions: a latent or a lytic infection. Latent infection is prevalent in the vast majority of malignant cells in EBV-related malignancies. Inducing a switch from latent to lytic infection in a substantial fraction of malignant cells has long been considered as a potentially interesting therapeutic approach. Therapeutic benefits are expected from (1) the cytotoxic or cytostatic effects of viral products expressed in the context of the lytic cycle; (2) expression of viral enzymes capable of metabolizing pro-drugs selectively inside these cells and (3) broadening the expression spectrum of antigenic viral proteins. In this chapter, addressing non EBV-specialized readers, we first summarize the main aspects of EBV biology with emphasis on the cellular mechanisms known to control latent and lytic infections. Then, we outline the basic principles and requirements of cytolytic EBV activation performed with a therapeutic intent. Finally, we review the main categories of pharmacological agents reported to be active in the switch from latent to lytic infection, including drugs used for conventional anti-tumour chemotherapy, histone-deacetylase inhibitors and various miscellaneous compounds

Parasite problems in organic livestock and options for control

ABSTRACT: Organic livestock production has increased dramatically in recent years in Europe and other parts of the world. The aim of producing livestock under more natural conditions has led to a reversion to primarily outdoor production systems and less intensive housing when indoor, more forage-based diets, and a reduced reliance on external inputs like antiparasiticides. These major changes in livestock production systems may potentially result in re-emergence (or emergence) of parasitic infections. The basic objective of this paper is to give an overview of the available information on parasitic problems in organic livestock production with a focus on northern temperate regions. Furthermore, options for control that target these problems and are acceptable within the framework of organic farming will be discussed. The large majority of conventional pigs and poultry are raised in highly intensive production systems which differ dramatically from organic housing systems and especially outdoor runs and pastures. A comparably pronounced difference between conventional and organic systems is not found for ruminants. Thus, organic rearing may be a higher risk factor for pigs and poultry than for ruminants, however this may partly be counteracted by the fact that pigs and poultry never rely on pasture vegetation for feeding, while ruminants do so with associated potential problems of insufficient nutritional status and increased parasite transmission. Several studies have indicated higher parasite infections rates in organic herds vs. and conventional herds, and many of these differences may be explained by environmental factors favourable to the development of parasite oocysts/eggs/larvae and perhaps for intermediate hosts, while fewer differences may be due to the lack of chemical intervention. However, parasite species have to overcome many very diverse constraints in their attempts to complete their life cycles and it may therefore be risky to generalize. Thus, helminths and Eimeria sp. infections are most prevalent in organic swine herds whereas infections with Isospora suis seems less common than in intensive herds. A higher risk of helminth infections has also been documented in organic poultry. In organic dairy production, gastrointestinal parasites may pose a problem, and lungworm infection remains a major problem, not only in grazing heifers and steers but also in adult milking cows. This is not different from conventional herds but control measures are restricted. Many problems can be controlled by appropriate management routines, e.g. pasture management. However, avoiding chemotherapeutics for control in certain regions, e.g. in relation to ectoparasitic infections, remains a major challenge. Future research has to actively exploit new, promising avenues for control like forages or diets with anti-parasitic activities, biological control and selection for resistance, using approaches compatible with organic farming principles

Train-the-trainers in hand hygiene : a standardized approach to guide education in infection prevention and control

Background Harmonization in hand hygiene training for infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals is lacking. We describe a standardized approach to training, using a “Train-the-Trainers” (TTT) concept for IPC professionals and assess its impact on hand hygiene knowledge in six countries.Methods We developed a three-day simulation-based TTT course based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy. To evaluate its impact, we have performed a pre-and post-course knowledge questionnaire. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the results before and after training.Results Between June 2016 and January 2018 we conducted seven TTT courses in six countries: Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain and Thailand. A total of 305 IPC professionals completed the programme. Participants included nurses (n = 196; 64.2%), physicians (n = 53; 17.3%) and other health professionals (n = 56; 18.3%). In total, participants from more than 20 countries were trained. A significant (p < 0.05) improvement in knowledge between the pre- and post-TTT training phases was observed in all countries. Puebla (Mexico) had the highest improvement (22.3%; p < 0.001), followed by Malaysia (21.2%; p < 0.001), Jalisco (Mexico; 20.2%; p < 0.001), Thailand (18.8%; p < 0.001), South Africa (18.3%; p < 0.001), Iran (17.5%; p < 0.001) and Spain (9.7%; p = 0.047). Spain had the highest overall test scores, while Thailand had the lowest pre- and post-scores. Positive aspects reported included: unique learning environment, sharing experiences, hands-on practices on a secure environment and networking among IPC professionals. Sustainability was assessed through follow-up evaluations conducted in three original TTT course sites in Mexico (Jalisco and Puebla) and in Spain: improvement was sustained in the last follow-up phase when assessed 5 months, 1 year and 2 years after the first TTT course, respectively.Conclusions The TTT in hand hygiene model proved to be effective in enhancing participant’s knowledge, sharing experiences and networking. IPC professionals can use this reference training method worldwide to further disseminate knowledge to other health care workers.peer-reviewe