Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: common use objects and their bacterial burden

The aim of this study was to determine the microbial burden on common use objects in the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The research took place in the seven departments of the central building of the Medical School, from January to February 2010. Fifty samples (29 doorknobs, 21 faucet handles) were collected from various places of the departments using swabs moistened by nutrient broth. The samples were inoculated into nutrient broth, MacConkey agar and blood agar. Isolates were identified and typed by conventional procedures.From the samples collected, 1-5 types of bacteria were isolated per object, presenting a growth scale from negligible to high. The most common isolate was coagulase negative Staphylococcus (27), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (17), Bacillus spp (16), Enterobacteriaceae (10), Diphtheroid spp (8), Pseudomonas spp (2) and the least occurring microorganism was β-haemolytic Streptococcus (1). The members of the Enterobacteriaceae isolated were: Escherichia spp (5), Enterobacter spp (3), Pantoea spp (1) and Klebsiella spp (1).In conclusion, doorknobs and faucet handles in the Medical School bare a sufficient microbial population, which however mostly belong to the normal flora or to potential pathogens. The level of hygiene, at least regarding the cleaning of hands and objects of common use, appears satisfying

Immune response to influenza vaccination in children with cancer

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of influenza immunization to evoke a protective immune response among children with cancer. We evaluated 75 children with cancer who received influenza vaccination. Hemagglutination Inhibition Antibody titers were determined before and after vaccination. The protective rates after vaccination were 79% for H1N1, 75% for H3N2 and 59% for influenza B virus whereas the seroconversion rates were 54%, 44% and 43% respectively. The differences pre- and post-vaccination were significant regardless the method which was used: seroprotection changes, seroconversion and geometric mean titers analyses. Variables such as the pre-vaccination antibody titers, the time when the responses were measured after the vaccination, the age and the type of malignancy as well as the absolute lymphocyte count were found to be correlated with the immune response but the findings were different for each vaccine subunit. In conclusion, influenza vaccination provides protection in a remarkable proportion of pediatric cancer patients whereas this protection is more obvious against H1N1 and H3N2 compared to influenza B. The immune response after vaccination is significant and seems to be influenced by a variety of factors