There has been a long-standing need for a technique that can provide fast, accurate and precise results regarding the presence of hazardous levels of lead in settled house dust. Several home testing kits are now available. One kit manufactured by Hybrivet (LeadCheck Swabs) is advertised as able to detect lead dust levels that exceed the US Environmental Protection Agency's dust lead standard fo...

BACKGROUND Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in many household items. Given concerns over their potential adverse health effects, we identified predictors and evaluated temporal changes of PBDE serum concentrations. METHODS PBDE serum concentrations were measured in young children (2-8 years old; N = 67), parents of young children (<55 years old; N = 90), and...

BACKGROUND Wipes containing chlorhexidine and azole derivates have been recommended for veterinary use. No study has been published about their activity against Malassezia pachydermatis. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To evaluate the in vivo and in vitro activity of wipes soaked in a chlorhexidine, climbazole and Tris-EDTA solution against Malassezia pachydermatis. ANIMALS Five research colony shar-...

Background: The standard practice in many institutions incorporates nasopharyngeal probes for temperature monitoring patients undergoing general anaesthesia. Current disinfection guidelines these devices are not clear and they poorly adhered to. In South Africa, reused subjected to unstandardized decontamination processes. This study sought investigate as possible source cross-contamination, as...

OBJECTIVE To develop, validate, and apply a method for the determination of platinum contamination, originating from cisplatinum, oxaliplatinum, and carboplatinum. METHODS Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine platinum in wipe samples. The sampling procedure and the analytical conditions were optimised and the assay was validated. The method was applied t...

OBJECTIVES This study assessed the health risks for children exposed to phthalate through several pathways including house dust, surface wipes and hand wipes in child facilities and indoor playgrounds. METHODS The indoor samples were collected from various children's facilities (40 playrooms, 42 daycare centers, 44 kindergartens, and 42 indoor-playgrounds) in both summer (Jul-Sep, 2007) and w...