Ebola: Infection prevention and control recovery plans in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone
An inter-country meeting is taking place July 20-22 in Liberia on the topic of Ebola: Infection prevention and control recovery plans and implementation. Monrovia is hosting a meeting of infection prevention and control (IPC) experts from the 3 Ebola-affected countries. The overall aim of the meeting is to share experiences on IPC practices, and water and sanitation hygiene, as well as to plan the recovery and implementation. Meetings such as this can ensure...
Fecal transplant research for ulcerative colitis
Researchers are questioning whether the stool transplants could work for bowel diseases other than C. difficile, such as ulcerative colitis. However, the first trials looking at whether ulcerative colitis could be treated with an infusion of a healthy person's stool produced confusing results...
Opinion article: Lyme disease is real but no epidemic
From the Montreal Gazette: "Acute Lyme disease, of course, is very real. It is an infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and gets spread to humans via bites from ticks of the Ixodes species. Adult ticks prefer to feed on white-tailed deer, but if an unassuming human happens by, they will happily latch on to the skin and feed on their host’s blood. The tick passes the bacteria to the...
McMaster researchers develop new infection test
Researchers from Hamilton's McMaster University have created a new test that can identify diseases like hepatitis C and C. difficile much earlier than ever before. Dr. Yingfu Li, a biochemistry and biomedical sciences professor, said the test allows doctors to get results in a matter of hours as opposed to days. It can also detect infections in lower concentrations that would otherwise be missed in regular tests. Read the full article on CBC news....
Accreditation Canada – Reprocessing of Reusable Medical Devices – Request for Input
The following information being distributed on behalf of Accreditation Canada. Dear Colleagues: As part of our regular cycle of revisions to ensure currency, Accreditation Canada has revised the following set of standards: Reprocessing of Reusable Medical Devices Standards Please visit our website, or click here to access an overview of the changes, review the standards, and provide your input. Please forward this link to staff or service providers within your organization that are involved in...
MERS-CoV update from BCCDC
From BCCDC: Dear Colleagues, Although it has been just over one week since our last bulletin, we would like to highlight a recent MERS-CoV cluster in South Korea that underscores several key aspects of emerging pathogen response, including travel history, prompt and rigorous infection control, and contact follow-up. Last week, South Korea notified the WHO of a laboratory-confirmed case of MERS-CoV, the first travel-related case to be reported in that country. Subsequent contact...
Emerging Respiratory Pathogens update
From BCCDC: As we enter the summer months and our human influenza surveillance indicators decline to inter-seasonal levels, we would like to update you on recent global trends related to emerging respiratory pathogens, including novel influenza A viruses and MERS-CoV. HIGHLIGHTS Human Infections with Avian Influenza Avian Influenza A(H5N1). Egypt continues to experience a large-scale outbreak of avian influenza A(H5N1), with year-to-date case counts (n=132) exceeding prior yearly totals in that country by...