Assays based on nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) are increasingly used for screening of blood and for diagnosis or monitoring of patients. Both regulatory requirements for blood screening and international recommendations for the treatment of patients are based on common reference materials available globally for the standardization of NAT assays. World Health Organization Internatio...

INTRODUCTION Tick-borne pathogens cause a spectrum of disease manifestations in both dogs and humans. Recognizing regional and temporal shifts in exposure are important as tick distributions change. To better delineate regional exposure to canine tick-borne pathogens, an expanded set of species-specific peptides were used to detect Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Aph), Anaplasma platys (Apl), Ehrlic...

Modelling the spatial spread of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens maintained in enzootic transmission cycles remains a major challenge. The best available spatio-temporal data on pathogen spread often take the form of human disease surveillance data. By applying a classic ecological approach-occupancy modelling-to an epidemiological question of disease spread, we used surveillance data to examine...

INTRODUCTION Food-borne pathogens are the leading cause of illness and death in developing countries, killing approximately 1.8 million people annually. In developed countries, food-borne pathogens are responsible for millions of cases of infectious gastrointestinal diseases each year, costing billions of dollars. The objective of this study was to screen for two major food-borne pathogens, Esc...

A growing body of documents shows that rising average global temperatures can be one of several causes of disease emergence and reemergence among human and animal populations. In this regard, climate mostly affects diseases caused by pathogens that spend part of their lifecycle outside of the host, exposed to the environment like water-borne diseases, food-borne pathogens, and vector-borne zoon...

Pulsatile lavage is a high-pressure irrigation treatment commonly used in the debridement of wounds. The risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens and contaminants using high-pressure irrigation has been well documented in the literature. Projectile droplets and aerosolized fine droplets may form and spread, potentially contaminating the treatment facility and infecting personnel. A new devic...

This study was conducted to determine the content of infection control (IC) curricula, the extent of IC monitoring and compliance, and the number of bloodborne pathogen (BBP) exposures/year in U.S. dental schools. A questionnaire was emailed to persons responsible for predoctoral IC programs. The response rate was 60 percent. Most schools did not have an independent course and used classroom le...

If the great 16 century French surgeon, Ambrose Paré, who stopped the practice of pouring boiling oil into gunshot wounds, were to return today, what would impress him most about the evolution of medicine ? We might suggest three achievements : our ability to look into any corner of the body using imaging and scoping techniques, the vast range and specificity of drugs in our current armamentari...

BACKGROUND One of the serious occupational concerns in health care workers (HCWs) is exposure to blood/body fluids that can transmit blood borne pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B and C viruses. We are reporting the effects of training course and surveillance on the rate of needle stick injuries (NSIs) among HCWs at an educational hospital in Iran. AIMS To evaluate...

Preventing infection in the perioperative setting is a critical element of patient and health care worker safety. This article reviews the recommendations in the AORN "Recommended practices for prevention of transmissible infections in the perioperative practice setting." The recommended practices are intended to help perioperative nurses implement standard and transmission-based precautions (i...