How to improve influenza vaccine coverage of healthcare personnel

Abstract Influenza causes substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide each year. Healthcare-associated influenza is a frequent event. Health care personnel (HCP) may be the source for infecting patients and may propagate nosocomial outbreaks. All HCP should receive a dose of influenza vaccine each year to protect themselves and others. This commentary will discuss the study recently published in the IJHPR by Nutman and Yoeli which assessed the beliefs and attitudes of HCP in an Israel hospital regarding influenza and the influenza vaccine. Unfortunately, as noted by Nutman and Yoeli in this issue many HCP in Israel choose not to receive influenza immunization and many harbor misconceptions regarding their risk for influenza as well as the benefits of influenza vaccine. We also discuss proven methods to increase acceptance by HCP for receiving an annual influenza vaccine

A comparison between ultraviolet disinfection and copper alginate beads within a vortex bioreactor for the deactivation of bacteria in simulated waste streams with high levels of colour, humic acid and suspended solids.

We show in this study that the combination of a swirl flow reactor and an antimicrobial agent (in this case copper alginate beads) is a promising technique for the remediation of contaminated water in waste streams recalcitrant to UV-C treatment. This is demonstrated by comparing the viability of both common and UV-C resistant organisms in operating conditions where UV-C proves ineffective - notably high levels of solids and compounds which deflect UV-C. The swirl flow reactor is easy to construct from commonly available plumbing parts and may prove a versatile and powerful tool in waste water treatment in developing countries

Characterisation of Clostridium difficile Hospital Ward–Based Transmission Using Extensive Epidemiological Data and Molecular Typing

A population-based study in Oxfordshire (UK) hospitals by Sarah Walker and colleagues finds that in an endemic setting with good infection control, ward-based contact cannot account for most new cases of Clostridium difficile infection