Infection prevention in hospitals: The importance of hand hygiene.

Infection prevention in hospitals: The importance of hand hygiene. Hand hygiene is described by many health care workers as the single most important tool in preventing the spread of health care-associated infections between patients. According to WHO, there are few definitive data on the patient-care activities that are most likely to transmit bacteria to health care worker (HCW) hands, but there have been several studies that identified many possibilities. Although bacteria have been found on HCW hands after activities such as wound care, intravascular catheter care, respiratory tract care and handling patient secretions as expected, bacteria also have been found on HCW hands after so-called “clean” contact, such as taking a patient’s pulse, temperature or blood pressure. Organisms found on HCW hands after such patient contact range from Klebsiella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, MRSA and gram-negative bacteria. However, direct patient contact is not the only way HCW hands can be contaminated. HCWs can acquire bacteria on their hands by touching contaminated surfaces in the patient environment and simply by touching a contaminated chart at the nurses’ station, according to the literature. Washing hands before and after patient contact seems like a simple solution to prevent the spread of bacteria between patients. Most hospitals have hand hygiene policies in place that guide their employees to do just that. But it is not as simple as it seems. Hospital

Preventing foodborne disease a ‘farm to fork issue’.

Preventing foodborne disease a ‘farm to fork issue’. Some restaurants in the United States have begun serving raw chicken. Chicken sashimi, chicken tartare — dishes that might make an infectious disease physician queasy with thoughts of Salmonella poisoning — are being eaten by customers in the U.S. “That’s Russian roulette,” Timothy F. Jones, MD,Infectious Disease News Editorial Board member and state epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health, said in an interview. Likewise, Kirk Smith, DVM, MS, PhD, manager of the foodborne, waterborne, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases section at the Minnesota Department of Health, said raw chicken, no matter how it is sourced or prepared, is too dangerous to consume. “Pathogens are common on raw chicken,” Smith said. “If that becomes more of a widespread practice, I guarantee you we will see outbreaks.” Chicken

WhatsApp empowers women, kids with ‘Live Location’ feature.

WhatsApp empowers women, kids with ‘Live Location’ feature. In a move that will help women and kids connect with their families and friends as they travel, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has introduced the ‘Live Location’ feature. The feature allows people to share location in real-time with family or friends. The end-to-end encrypted feature lets people control who they share with and for how long. You can choose to stop sharing at any time or let the Live Location timer simply expire. Whatsapp

Agritech startup offers bio-based alternatives to better yield and improve crop quality.

Agritech startup offers bio-based alternatives to better yield and improve crop quality. India is primarily an agrarian economy where the agriculture is highly dependent on rains. That’s why the choice of agric inputs plays an important role in the final produce of any farmer. Unfortunately, in most cases farmers don’t consider bio-based agri inputs and end up using harmful chemicals, which do not help the overall health and life of the soil and the quality of the crop. 48-year-old Santosh Nair, who has earlier worked with various banks and was the chief executive of Camson Bio, a listed biotech company, decided to start Miklens Bio. This agritech startup offers bio-based agri inputs that aid alternative, chemical-free farming. Explaining why he decided to start up in the agricultural space, Santosh says, “I have been a banker all my life, yet I always had a soft corner for agriculture. One important thing which compelled me to set up Miklens Bio was the power of microbes. I decided to harness this power to introduce revolutionary, clean technology-based products. This technology is the core of our product development known as Agri-Microbial Technology (AMT).” Agritech

Ogbe seeks collaboration between agric Universities and Ministry of Agriculture.

Ogbe seeks collaboration between agric Universities and Ministry of Agriculture. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday called for increased collaborations between Universities of Agriculture(UAs) and relevant agencies of the government as part of efforts to boost agriculture in Nigeria. Ogbe made the call in Abeokuta while delivering a lecture organised as part of activities for the 23rd, 24th and 25th combined Convocation ceremonies of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNNAB) . Ogbe seeks collaboration between agric Universities and Ministry of Agriculture.

Spanish project seeks to improve climate change tolerance in tomatoes.

Spanish project seeks to improve climate change tolerance in tomatoes.More than 70 percent of the planet's fresh water is used for agriculture, and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warns of a greater risk of droughts, which in certain regions may limit the local production of certain foods. The problem of water scarcity coincides with the pollution of water resources; fertilizers and pesticides are affecting its quality and the environmental cost to pay is very high. How can we meet this challenge? The slogan "more food per drop of water" is the challenge, but this goes beyond optimising irrigation systems; it requires an interdisciplinary approach. Obtaining drought-resistant plants is not easy; it entails a thorough understanding of their molecular and physiological processes, as well as the development of agronomic and crop precision techniques.Spanish project seeks to improve climate change tolerance in tomatoes.

Probiotics: Microbes poised to transform food production and health.

Microbes poised to transform food production and health. At Canada’s Food University, microbes are rapidly emerging as a star player in the quest to produce food safely and sustainably, and improve gut health in both food animals and consumers.

This is because microbes – ubiquitous yet virtually invisible to the naked eye – play essential but usually unsung roles across the food chain. 

 Some of these roles are well known; for example, microbes help cycle nutrients in soil, making them available for crop uptake and growth, and without microorganisms we wouldn’t have some of our favourite foods such as cheese, yoghurt, wine and beer. 

But other roles are just beginning to be understood, such as the ability of “good” microbes to suppress harmful pathogens in soil, plants, food products and the gut. Microbes poised to transform food production and health.