Question: When does a decorative water wall, installed in a hospital lobby to provide a calming ambience, become a health risk? Answer: When the water wall dispenses a bacteria-laden mist that results in an outbreak of Legionnaires disease.
Eight people who walked by just such a water wall in a Wisconsin hospital lobby in 2010 are believed to have contracted the disease by inhaling the mist from the streaming water. Legionella can affect people whose immunity may be depressed due to an underlying illness, or due to a medication regimen; smokers may also be vulnerable. One of the patients affected in Wisconsin was a delivery person who had been a smoker and had made two deliveries to the hospital. Others had visited the pharmacy adjacent to the water wall to obtain medications.
The outbreak is an unintended consequence of well-intentioned efforts to create a soothing and welcoming healthcare environment. For now, we know those decorative water walls are a bad idea unless sanitary conditions are meticulously maintained.
Legionella under the Rocks
A new study published in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology notes that although the decorative water wall underwent routine cleaning and maintenance, the bacterium… READ MORE >>
Chlorinated wash water used during cantaloupe processing can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness to consumers.
Last summer a family-owned farm in Colorado became the focal point of the largest foodborne illness outbreak in the US in 25 years. Tragically, cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria bacteria sickened 146 people in 28 states, killed 30 and caused one pregnant woman to miscarry, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded the outbreak likely could have been prevented if Jensen Farms had maintained its facilities in accordance with existing voluntary FDA guidance. FDA has no enforceable regulations on cantaloupe processing, and farm facility auditors conducting inspections do not consider FDA voluntary guidance when scoring facilities. Scores can be lowered only if practices are inconsistent with FDA regulations. That could, and should, change.
Recently the House Committee on Energy and Commerce released a report outlining multiple operational problems contributing to the cantaloupe contamination. The investigation report notes FDA officials were “highly critical of the processing methods used at Jensen Farms,” and emphasized two probable causes of the contamination:… READ MORE >>
Tackling C. diff
Barbara Soule, RN, MPA, CIC, FSHEA
Here’s a troubling statistic: Over 165,000 patients will acquire Clostridium difficile (“C. diff’) infections while in US hospitals this year. This organism has become a top hospital-acquired pathogen in the US.
“Clostridium difficile,” is a spore-forming bacterium that can live in the lower gastrointestinal tract of some humans and is shed in feces. Persons hosting C. diff may have no symptoms and be unaware that they are contagious. Other persons will become infected under specific circumstances. A C. diff infection may produce watery diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, nausea or abdominal pain and tenderness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients who are at increased risk for infection include those who:
- are taking antibiotics
- have had gastrointestinal procedures
- have had a prolonged stay in a healthcare institution
- have a serious underlying illness
- are of an advanced age.
Any surface or medical device that becomes contaminated with feces may serve as a reservoir for C. diff spores including toilets, bathtubs, or electronic rectal thermometers. In the healthcare setting, the spores are thought to be transferred to patients mainly via the hands of healthcare personnel who have touched a contaminated surface or item.… READ MORE >>
This holiday season the Water Quality & Health Council hopes you will enjoy the good cheer of family and friends. Seeing the little ones is one of the special joys of the season. Naturally, we want them to be healthy and avoid the colds and flu that seem to run rampant at this time of year.
One of the best lessons we can teach children about staying healthy is the importance of hand washing.
Here’s a fun coloring page from the American Cleaning Institute® that just may help turn the little folks in your life into budding public health experts:
Clean Your Paws for Santa Claus Coloring Page
Click on the link above to download the coloring page.
