Cedar leaf oil (CLO), derived from the Western red cedar, Thuja plicata, was evaluated as a safe and acceptable broad spectrum antimicrobial agent, with a view to its potential applications in buildings, including the alleviation of sick building syndrome. Various Gram-positive and Gram-negative human bacteria, and two fungal organisms, all known to be common environmental sources of potential ...

The effectiveness of electrolyzed oxidizing water, FreshFx, hot water, DL-lactic acid, and ozonated water was determined using a model carcass spray-washing cabinet. A total of 140 beef heads obtained from a commercial processing line were inoculated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 on the cheek areas. Each head was exposed to a simulated preevisceration wash and then had antimicrobial wash treatm...

Low temperature Plasma (LTP) is a high-energy gas that is created when an electrical current is passed through a gas. Until recently, plasmas could only be created at relatively high temperatures in a vacuum and the use of plasma on sensitive materials such as human tissue, food products, medical devices and the packaging industry, was therefore impractical. However, over the last few years tec...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the capability of accident and emergency (A&E) departments in six health regions of England to safely decontaminate casualties exposed to hazardous chemicals. METHODS In January 1999 a postal questionnaire was sent to the clinical director of all A&E departments in Trent, North and South Thames, South and West, North West and, Anglia and Oxford Health Regions. The quest...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES There has been an extensive invasion of tuberculosis at the global level by multidrug resistant as well as extensively drug resistant organisms. Attempts to recover the pathogen in pure culture have frequently failed since the specimens are often highly contaminated and also due to use of insufficient or over-active decontamination procedures. Hence in the present study ...

BACKGROUND Duration of digestion/decontamination has a considerable impact on yield of mycobacteria especially from sterile body fluids and pus specimens. Additionally, duration of digestion/decontamination affects the contamination rates. This study evaluates the effect of digestion/decontamination protocol for 15 and 20min versus inoculation of media directly from the sample on contamination ...

Several emotional responses may be invoked in critical care physicians when confronted with selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD). Although recent meta-analyses have shown that the use of SDD reduces the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and improves ICU survival, the effectiveness of SDD has remained controversial. We recently concluded a large randomized, controll...

Although the role of pets in household transmission of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been examined previously, only minor attention has been given to the role of the abiotic household environment independent of, or in combination with, colonisation of pets and human beings to maintain transmission cycles of MRSA within the household. This report reviews published work ab...

All of the costs associated with decontamination following the 2001 anthrax letter attacks were summarized, estimated, and aggregated based on existing literature and news media reports. A comprehensive list of all affected structures was compiled. Costs were analyzed by building class and decontamination type. Sampling costs and costs of worker relocation were also included. Our analysis indic...

A raw or processed meat product can be a breeding ground for spoilage bacteria ( Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus spp., Pseudomonas etc.). Failure of decontamination results in food quality loss and foodborne illnesses caused by pathogens such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus , Listeria monocytogenes . Often, processors decontaminate the carcass using cheap chemicals arti...