Swiss scientists report that bacteria in the human mouth play a role in creating the distinctive flavors of certain foods. Doctors found that these bacteria actually produce food odors from components of food, allowing eaters to savor fruits and vegetables.

Their study appears in the November 12 edition of the ACS bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Christian Starkenmann and colleagues point out that some fruits and vegetables release characteristic odors only after being swallowed.

Though doctors have reported that volatile compounds produced from precursors found in these foods are responsible for this retroaromatic effect, the details of this transformation were not understood.

The scientists performed sensory tests on 30 trained panelists to evaluate the odor intensity of volatile compounds – known as thiols – that are released from odorless sulfur compounds found naturally in grapes, onions, and bell peppers.

When given samples of the odorless compounds, it took participants 20 to 30 seconds to perceive the aroma of the thiols – and this perception persisted for three minutes. The researchers also determined that the odorless compounds are transformed into the thiols by anaerobic bacteria residing in the mouth – causing the characteristic ‘retroaromatic’ effect.

“The mouth acts as a reactor, adding another dimension to odor perceptions,” they explain.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director, and Nancy Bruening, Executive Editor

Posted: November 11th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Developing Diseases, Diseases, Impaired Immunity.
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Following the anthrax scare back in 2001, ABC News reported that sales of Bayer・s antibiotic Cipro had skyrocketed 1,000 percent.  The anchor noted that many panicked consumers were spending $700 for a two month supply. Although Bacillus anthracis responded effectively to inexpensive and well -tolerated drugs such as penicillin and doxycycline, the FDA approved Cipro for use after exposure to inhalation anthrax in August 2000. According to the FDA Talk Paper released at the time, “FDA approved this new use, for inhalation anthrax, under its accelerated approval regulation.”Although the anthrax scare turned out to be greatly exaggerated, Cipro became a household brand name and has continued to be a popular drug for indications such as urinary and upper respiratory tract infections.

Now, because of mounting evidence that the drug can cause injury to tendons and tendon ruptures, the FDA has issued its most urgent safety warning for Cipro and other antibiotics belonging to the family of flouroquinolone drugs.

The exact mechanism by which these drugs damage tendons is poorly understood, but studies show that the drugs have a toxic effect on cellular components of connective tissue. The most commonly effected tendons are the Achilles tendon in the heel and the tendons connecting muscles to bones in the hand, shoulder and arm. The FDA alert indicates that this risk is increased in patients over age 60 and in patients taking steroids. Physicians are advised to take patients off fluoroquinolone medications at the first sign of tendon pain or swelling.

The consumer group Public Citizen had filed a petition asking for these warnings two years ago and eventually sued the FDA prior to the FDA’s decision. The FDA would not cite a specific number, but admit they have received several hundred reports of tendon ruptures, a serious injury which may require extensive surgery and result in significant disability.

Infection Protection asked the FDA if its approval of Cipro for anthrax and the subsequent media exposure may have contributed to increased use of the drug and the number of reported cases of tendon ruptures. Christopher Kelly, from the FDA office of public affairs tells Infection Protection, “The decision to add a boxed warning is based on review of published literature. We do not have data whether the 2001 use of Cipro for prevention of anthrax influenced subsequent prescribing patterns for the indications for which Cipro is approved.” When asked if the FDA has considered recommending a less expensive and less toxic antibiotic, Mr. Kelly would only say that, “Cipro has been available as a generic product since 2004.”

– by Dr. Chris Iliades, MD, Boston Correspondent

Cipro linked to tendon problems.

Posted: August 7th, 2008 under Anthrax, Anti-Bacterial Resources.
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A Boy Scout reservation in Virginia has been closed after more than a dozen scouts there were sickened by the deadly       E. coli bacteria, an official said. E. coli is a bacterium that infects humans through tainted food, handling animals or swimming in contaminated water. The disease can cause severe food poisoning in people but not everyone exposed to it becomes ill, said Seth Levine, a Virginia state epidemiologist. But, individuals who do have the affliction usually undergo stomach cramps, watery bloody diarrhea, fever, and chills. The infection can also harm organs like kidneys.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, E. coli infects an estimated 73,000 people and kills 61 a year in the U.S. 

According to officials of the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the local camp was closed after discovering that more scouts presented with symptoms of the infection. Overall, 16 Boy Scouts and an adult leader are victims of the infection, with two of the boys being in serious condition.

The Virginia Department of Public Health investigated the site, but, according to the scouts,  “the source of the bacteria remains unconfirmed.”

As part of the ongoing infection control plan, the council announced it would get in touch with scouts scheduled for camp this week and the ones who were there last week. If the boys show any symptoms of the infection, the scouting organization recommends that they immediately seek medical care.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

Posted: August 4th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Diseases, E. Coli, Hand Hygiene.
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Doctors say a vaccine is on the horizon for tularemia, a fatal disease caused by the pathogen Francisella tularensis, an organism considered a potential biological warfare agent. Until recently medicine knew very little about this bacterium.  But, according to the August issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, research on the bacterium is now making fast progress.

Infection with F. tularensis can result in a variety of symptoms, depending on the route of infection. For example, infection via an insect bite can lead to a swollen ulcer or fever, chills, malaise, headaches and a sore throat. When infection occurs by eating contaminated food, symptoms can range from mild diarrhea to an acute fatal disease. If inhaled, F. tularensis infections can have a 30 percent mortality rate if left untreated.

“Very few bacteria are needed to cause serious disease,” said Dr. Petra Oyston. “Because of this and the fact that tularemia can be contracted by inhalation, Francisella tularensis has been designated a potential biological weapon. Since the events of September 2001 and the subsequent anthrax attacks on the USA, concern about the potential misuse of dangerous pathogens including F. tularensis has increased.”

Tularemia resides in rodents and animals like rabbits and hares. Outbreaks in humans often happen at the same time as outbreaks in these creatures. The disease is probably transmitted by insects like mosquitoes, doctors speculate. People can also become infected by contact with contaminated food or water. Farmers, hunters, walkers, and forest workers are most at risk of contracting tularemia.

Presently, there is no vaccine against tularemia. Since there are few natural cases of tularemia, money was not spent by researchers on the development of a vaccine. But, some nations have developed F. tularensis as a biological weapon, including the reported production of antibiotic-resistant strains, so research into its pathogenesis has become a biodefense issue.

“Progress is being made,” said Dr. Oyston. “Since the genome of F. tularensis was sequenced, researchers have taken great strides in understanding the molecular basis for its pathogenesis. This is essential information for developing a vaccine and getting it licensed.”

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

Biological warfare still a threat in the years after 9-11.

Posted: July 28th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Vaccinations.
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 A new clinical trial at the University at Buffalo demonstrates that using antimicrobial sutures to secure a shunt and close a wound significantly reduces the number of shunt infections arising during the first six months after brain surgery. Results of the trial appear online in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. 

Sixty-one children requiring brain shunt surgery were assigned randomly to undergo their surgery with antimicrobial sutures, considered the study group, or with conventional sutures, which served as the control group.  All of the procedures were performed by one of two pediatric neurosurgeons at Women & Children’s Hospital of Kaleida Health in Buffalo. At the end of the trial, the shunt infection rate in the study group was 4.3 percent, compared to 21 percent in the control group.

“Some earlier studies, but not all, found that antibiotic-impregnated shunt systems in particular appear to reduce infection risk,” said Dr. Curtis J.  Rozzelle, MD.  “Unfortunately, none of these studies were prospective, randomized, and double-blinded.” In animal trials, sutures were coated with the antimicrobial triclosan have been shown to reduce the number of bacteria adhering to sutures, but only one study has been published thus far on their effect in preventing surgical site infection, so we decided to conduct our own trial, the doctor said.

“Our results showed that using antimicrobial sutures reduced infection risk by 16 percent,” he added.

Antibiotic-impregnated shunts, which are used in some surgeries, have several limitations, said Rozzelle, “They don’t provide complete protection, they can’t be used in patients who are allergic to the antibiotics, and they are a lot more expensive than non-impregnated shunts.”

“Closing wounds with antimicrobial sutures may reduce infections in procedures implanting other devices, such as pacemakers and neurostimulators, pumps that deliver pharmaceuticals and shunts elsewhere in the body,” he said.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

New sutures cut infection rates for brain surgeries.

Posted: July 28th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Wound Management.
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The mysterious, Iraqi War illness, acinetobacter infection, has become an “increasingly common problem” in hospitals and other health care facilities, according to a report in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. The infection is being brought back to the U.S. by veterans of the Iraqi war, some suspect. Others suspect far worse than that cause as the source of the illness.  “Dramatic multihospital outbreaks have been described in Brooklyn, Chicago, northwestern Indiana, Detroit, and cities in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Infections with Acinetobacter baumannii tend to occur in debilitated patients, mostly in ICUs,” the NEJM reported. 

Residents of long-term care facilities, particularly facilities caring for ventilator-dependent patients, with wounded veterans, are at increased risk, the medical journal reported.  Additional risk factors for colonization and infection are recent surgery, central vascular catheterization, tracheostomy, mechanical ventilation, enteral feedings, and treatment with third-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, or carbapenem antibiotics, the journal reported.

Common treatments recommended by physicians, according to NEJM:

* Antibiotic-susceptible acinetobacter strains have been treated with broad-spectrum cephalosporins,  (beta)-lactam-(beta)-lactamase inhibitor combinations — a combination that includes sulbactam, a drug marketed only in intravenous products in the U.S.

*  Carbapenems — including imipenem or meropenem, although there are reports of discordant susceptibility to carbapenems –  used alone or in combination with an aminoglycoside.

The lengthy of treatment is generally similar to that for infections caused by other gram-negative bacilli, is largely empirical, and depends mostly on the site of infection. In vitro studies have demonstrated either synergy or additive effects when polymyxins were used with imipenem, rifampin, or azithromycin against multidrug-resistant acinetobacter.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, editorial director

Acinetobacter infection may soon rival MRSA in hospitals.

Infection Protection has covered this emerging disease extensively, and will continue to monitor it. See,

Maryland hospital now mum on extent of bacterial infection from Iraq war
http://www.care-mates.com/blog/?p=106

Rare bacterial infection, known to attack military personnel, emerges in civilian patients
http://www.care-mates.com/blog/?p=72

Antibiotics accelerating evolution for lethal microbial population, report indicates
http://www.care-mates.com/blog/?p=124

Posted: March 20th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Antibiotic Resistant, Feature Stories, Hand Hygiene, MRSA.
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A drug-resistant bacterial infection has been increasingly found in a number of patients who have plastic surgery, particularly face-lifts, doctors reported on Monday.

The report published in the current issue of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery said doctors who perform face-lifts may want to start screening patients to track down those who may be at risk.

According to Dr. Richard Zoumalan of Lennox Hill-Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital in New York and the New York University School of Medicine and Dr. David Rosenberg also of the Lennox Hill center, a review of 780 U.S. face-lift patients from 2001 to 2007 found five — 0.6 percent — with infections at incision sites. Four were confirmed as MRSA. 

Two patients appeared to have been exposed to the bacteria before surgery — one who had spent time with her spouse in a cardiac intensive care unit four months earlier, and another who had frequent contact with her brother-in-law, a cardiologist, the report said.

MRSA was blamed for an estimated 19,000 deaths in 2005 in the U.S., and has become the most common cause of all infections at surgical incision sites, and about 85 percent of cases happen in hospitals where the infection can kill the ill and infirm.

“It’s not surprising that it has been found in cosmetic surgery,” Rosenberg said, according to press reports.

Since patients enter hospitals with the bacteria, he said, “the emphasis has to be on pre-treatment.”

– by Gene J. Koprowski, editorial director

Source of Image: http://www.plasticsurgeryhumour.com/img/bad_face_lift.gif

Posted: March 18th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Antibiotic Resistant, Feature Stories, MRSA.
Comments: 1

Though gyms, health clubs, and athletic facilities are not high risk places for disease, staph and other infections are no stranger to such locales. So says The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. The doctors there recommend preventative measures to stymie infections, and that health clubs post warnings on these precautions.

Staph has been contracted at health clubs across the country.

These precautions are primary says Nicole Coffin, a spokeswoman for the CDC:

• Wash hands.
• Don’t share personal items.
• Cover draining wounds.

The manager of the Gold’s Gym in San Francisco, who goes by the name of “Bo,” takes special measures to keep staph infection low. “We have added sanitizing wipes to every corner of our gym that people can use. The signs have information by the San Francisco Health Department,” he says.

According to Herbert DuPont, M.D., professor of medical sciences at the University of Texas, who has studied gym hygiene, environments that are characterized by warmth and moisture will be a great breeding ground for bacteria. Athletic facilities are at “high risk for colonization,” even infection, but low risk for disease, he adds.

So-called “boxercise gloves,” used for gym boxing classes, contain species of bacteria, often linked to infections. Sweaty residue on gym equipment, particularly the machines often used by several people in quick succession, can also harbor streptococcal infections and even candida, a germ linked to problems in the intestines and bowel.

Catching the Herpes virus is also a risk if the sweat of an infected person gets onto gym mats or other surfaces. It isn’t sweating itself that’s the problem, but bacteria. “The actual sweat is really not a problem,” says Dr. DuPont.

Amy Lang, owner of the Pacific Heights Health Club in San Francisco, uses an array of cleaning methods, including constantly wiping down equipment with anti-viral gym wipes. She also says she uses hot temperature on towels and cleans with bleaches. She adds, regarding athletes foot with showers, “we went with all man-made materials in the shower—floors that are non- porous.”

At 24 Hour Fitness, San Francisco, the fitness club chain offers these remedies, following recommendations by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM):

• Wash hands before and after workouts with soap and water, or hand sanitizer.
• Keep skin lesions covered with a clean, dry dressing.
• Limit sharing of personal items.

How dangerous is the likelihood of staph infection at the local gym? Possible, but not highly likely. “One in three people carry staph on their skin. They can spread infections anywhere in the community,” epidemiologist Jeff Hageman says. Hageman, is one of the scientists tracking MRSA at the CDC. “We see outbreaks in settings where there is crowding, a lot of skin contact, and, often, a lack of good hygiene,”

Why do so many people carry staph germs? Because the human body is the staph bacterium’s natural habitat, says Gordon Dickinson, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at the University of Miami and the Miami VA Medical Center.

Another physician, Dr. Kent Aftergut, an assistant clinical instructor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, says he has treated about a half dozen people from gyms.

Studies by scientists of health facilities and gyms continue. The general consensus for infection prevention at health clubs is hand washing and general hygiene.

–by Peter Menkin, San Francisco Correspondent

MRSA affects the legs, arms, and torso. 

Posted: March 12th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Droplet Precautions, Feature Stories, Hand Hygiene, MRSA.
Comments: 1

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is moving forward with additional measures, as part of a “comprehensive plan” to address public safety concerns regarding a national biocontainment research laboratory now under construction at Boston University Medical Center.

Research in the laboratory will focus on the development of diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines for an array of infectious diseases.

“Our number one concern is the safety of the people working in the laboratory and those living in the surrounding communities,” Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., NIH director, says.

NIH has established an internal Coordinating Committee to guide the agency’s efforts to address safety concerns raised by community representatives and other members of the public.

NIH also has established a blue ribbon panel, chaired by Adel Mahmoud, M.D., Ph.D., of Princeton University, that will review current risk assessments and provide independent technical expertise and guidance. The panel includes experts in infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology, risk assessment, environmental justice, risk communications, biodefense, biosafety, and infectious disease modeling. “The biomedical research conducted in facilities such as the one under construction at Boston University Medical Center is essential for developing vaccines, therapies, and diagnostics to protect the American public against infectious diseases that may occur naturally or be deliberately introduced,” says Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

“Through a transparent process, we will thoroughly examine any potential risks to the community associated with this project and continue to promote open communication and mutual understanding,” he adds.

In accord with NEPA, NIH completed a Final Environmental Impact Statement and issued a Record of Decision in February 2006 that affirmed the safety of the laboratory. Supplementary risk assessments were drafted in response to concerns raised in a federal court proceeding regarding a challenge to NIH’s previous review.

– by The Editors

A new biocontainment laboratory being built in Boston is generating national controversy.

Posted: March 7th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Antibiotic Resistant, Droplet Precautions, Hand Hygiene, Infection Protection, Masks Control Transmission, Parasites and Lice.
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Massive outbreaks of Influenza B — an exceptionally potent strain of the disease — have been diagnosed at 20 nursing homes and several hospitals across the state of Maine, according to press reports.

Visitors are being denied access to their relatives in homes there, while the outbreak runs its natural course.

Nursing homes are cancelling all group activities, and residents are being kept in their rooms to limit the opportunity for spreading the virus. Common dining rooms are not being used, and residents are taking their meals in their rooms. A redoubled effort is going into hand washing, some staff members are wearing paper masks, and handrails and other surfaces are being wiped down regularly with an antiseptic solution, experts said.

All residents and staff have been dosed with the antiviral medication Tamiflu to help prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

The infection prevention measures at Bangor Nursing and Rehab, cited above, are being followed at residential facilities across the state, said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We’ve been hard hit,” Mills said. “It’s hitting everybody hard, but it usually hits the elderly harder.”

Even after nursing homes lift their restrictions, she said, family members and other visitors should take special precautions when visiting the aged and infirm.

“Make sure you’re completely well yourself and practice good hygiene,” she said. Practicing good hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes can help prevent a variety of illnesses.
– by The Editors

For more information, go to,

http://bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=161209&zoneid=176

The prevalence of Influenza B is increasing, scientists say.

Posted: March 6th, 2008 under Anti-Bacterial Resources, Droplet Precautions, Hand Hygiene, Infection Protection.
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