Health. Care. | An Educational Blog

Today's trio of pathogens are stealthy, living on our bodies without causing us harm but wreaking havoc when they find a way inside a bacteria-free, or sterile part of our body (lungs, bloodstream, internal organs, and others). Typically they are surrounded by other species of bacteria in our intestines or on our skin, using all their energy to battle it out for resources with the other species of bacteria that surround them. This keeps them in check. However, if they are able to enter the sterile parts of our body through an incision or medical device, they find themselves in a new territory with absolutely no competition. With uncontested resources, they quickly reproduce and create an infection which can cause great harm, and even death.

New England has been put on high alert thanks to an outbreak of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), a rare virus that can lead to the deaths of 30% of those infected, and leave many survivors with neurological problems. Despite the name, (the second E, equine, means "horse") this virus is spread by mosquitos, an example of what is known in the medical field as a disease vector. In today's post, we'll look at what a vector is, and how they play a role in the spread of healthcare-associated infections.

It is estimated that there are  5×10³⁰ bacteria on Earth. That's 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, or 5 nonillion. We have not even begun to identify them all, and new strains are evolving all the time. We not only coexist with bacteria on Earth, they outnumber us by such a mind-boggling degree that we cannot even conceive it. Consider this: There are currently just over 7 billion humans on earth, and one spoonful of rich soil contains approximately 10 trillion bacteria. And our bodies? Bacterial cells outnumber human cells 10 to 1. (But don't worry, you're not a zombie. They make up only 3% of our body mass. But still.)

Millions of American children have returned to school or will very soon, officially kicking off the academic year. Alongside the promise of learning new things comes another promise: The certainty of picking up some kind of bug that will cause anything from the sniffles and sneezing to sick days at home (for the kids and the parents). Today we'll explore some of the major pathogens that strike in busy classrooms full of kids as well as a few steps you can take to avoid some of those hallway bullies.

Usually we discuss products that fall under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in this blog, including disinfectants, cleaners, and biocidal surfaces. With the growth in UV light products, however, it's also important that we learn about how these devices are regulated, specifically, as medical devices. A medical device is typically an instrument (including implants) or in vitro reagent used to prevent, diagnose or treat a disease (in man or other animals) that uses mechanical rather than chemical (unmetabolized) means to achieve its purpose. In today's post, we'll look at one particular clearance as a way to unpack the basics in medical device regulation.

In formal descriptions of the germ-fighting powers of antibacterial and biocidal products, the terms "Gram positive" and "Gram negative" are used as a way to categorize bacteria. While there are estimated to be over 10,000 species of bacteria, they can be categorized into a few helpful categories.

One of those categories has to do with the structure of the cell membrane. All the known bacteria fit into one of two categories of cell membrane structure: Gram-positive or Gram-negative. But what does that mean?

Around 248 million years ago, a mass extinction wipes out most life on Earth. Half of all animal families become extinct. Almost every single marine species is erased, including thousands of species of trilobite. Among the hardy survivors is a trilobite cousin, a 10-legged, 9-eyed, carapace-covered creature, living in the shallow waters of a ravaged planet.

Fast forward 200 million years, and our survivor continues to live in these shallow waters, a small creature surrounded by giant dinosaurs. When another mass extinction hits the Earth, these giants succumb, along with about half of marine invertebrates. But not our survivor, whose unchanged shape and size allow him to soldier on, even through several ice ages.

Who is this survivor, a living fossil that looks like a rock, moves like a tank, and chews food with its legs? 

Every summer, headlines around the world war of dangerous "red tide," a harmful algal bloom that threatens marine life and humans alike. Usually forming in August, these sudden explosions of opportunistic algae peak later in the fall, causing ecological, economic, and health impacts. In today's post, we'll explore how the coastal contaminant shares many characteristics of a healthcare associated infection. 

Will they or won't they? This was the question at the Olympics in Paris, France this past week as swimmers and fans waited to hear whether the famously polluted Seine River would be clean enough to hold races safely. The verdict? A hard... maybe? The Olympics served as a goal post for France, which pledged to clean up the Seine upon being selected to host the Games back in 2015. $1.5 Billion later, the Seine has seen great improvement, but bacterial contamination continues to plague the busy waterway 7 out of 10 days, on average. In today's post, we'll learn how this waterway became so contaminated, and why bacterial contamination can be so difficult to eradicate in urban riverways.

It seems like it's not officially summer without at least once newspaper headline warning us about "flesh-eating bacteria" cases connected to popular beaches. This disturbing trend - there are more and more cases each year - has been connected to climate change as well as agricultural run-off. Whatever the cause, these infections can lead to severe injury and even death. But as it turns out, this health risk can also teach us a few things about a far more fatal crisis: healthcare-acquired infections, or HAIs.