scholarly journals The great Bacterial Contamination of the Milk of Cities. Can it be lessened by the Action of Health Authorities?

1901 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wm. Hallock Park
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Experience ◽  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Bacteriological Examination ◽  
Original Condition ◽  
Gastric Digestion ◽  
Maternal Milk ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Dead Bodies ◽  
Hot Weather

It will be accepted that milk containing large numbers of bacteria, as well as the products of their growth, is less suitable for food than unpolluted milk. A bacteriological examination of the milk in great cities generally will show that much of it in hot weather, and some of it at all seasons of the year, abounds in bacteria. Clinical experience also teaches that much of the milk in hot weather is unsuitable for food, especially for infants; because in them, owing to the rapidity with which the milk passes through the stomach, gastric digestion is almost no safeguard against the entrance of disturbing microorganisms into the intestines. Even pasteurization of milk charged with bacteria and their products does not restore it to its original condition, for the dead bodies of the bacteria and their toxins still remain. The changes in milk which are most deleterious being now known to be due to bacteria, it is theoretically conceded by all, that commercial cow's milk, the substitute for maternal milk, should be as nearly free as practicable from bacteria.

scholarly journals Ward floors and other surfaces as reservoirs of hospital infection

1967 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. J. Ayliffe ◽  
B. J. Collins ◽  
E. J. L. Lowbury ◽  
J. R. Babb ◽  
H. A. Lilly
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Hospital Infection ◽  
Staph Aureus ◽  
Air Movement ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Equilibrium Level ◽  
Rapid Accumulation ◽  
Floor Surfaces ◽  
Contaminated Area

Impression plates from initially clean horizontal surfaces and floor areas in surgical wards showed a rapid accumulation of bacteria, mainly micrococci, which reached a fluctuating equilibrium after about 24 h. A later increase in bacterial contamination (mainly with aerobic sporing bacilli) to a higher equilibrium level after about 14 days occurred on uncleaned areas. Walls, even if left unwashed, acquired very few bacteria, but many were deposited locally when the wall was touched by a subject whose skin carried large numbers of staphylococci; moist exposed plaster was also heavily contaminated.Regular use of a disinfectant (‘Sudol’ 1 in 100) in cleaning a ward floor did not reduce the equilibrium level of bacteria on the floor.The transfer of staphylococci from contaminated to clean areas on the soles of shoes was demonstrated; the use of tacky and disinfectant mats did not appreciably reduce the transfer of bacteria by this route.Staphylococci deposited on a wall by a disperser were shown to be transferred from the contaminated area of wall to the hands of another subject who did not previously carry the organism; this subject was shown to transfer the staphylo-coccus to a wall which he touched.Attempts to redisperse by air movementStaph. aureuswhich had been shed by a disperser or by a contaminated blanket on to the floor surfaces had little effect; neither blowing with a hair dryer nor brisk exercise appeared to lift any of the staphylococci from a vinyl surface, and only small numbers were lifted by these measures from a terrazzo surface.The hazards of infection from the inanimate environment are discussed.

scholarly journals Dealing with unclaimed dead bodies- embrace the challenge

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arora Pankaj ◽  
Bhogal Ranjitpal Singh
Keyword(s):  
Local Police ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Routine Tasks ◽  
Dead Bodies ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Law ◽  
Set Up

Background: Worldwide a significant number of unclaimed dead bodies report to hospital and health authorities find it difficult to clear them from morgues. The epidemiology of these unclaimed dead bodies and various methods to identify them has been studied by various forensic experts but no study has considered pitfalls in dignified disposal of the dead bodies. Methods: As a part of routine set up of mortuary, a designated person among the staff of mortuary has been assigned the task of keeping the record of unidentified dead bodies and facilitating their disposal with the help of local police and police under whose jurisdiction the case falls. The same data has been collected retrospectively between the period from 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015. Results: In this study our designated person, in coordination with local police, was able to expedite the process of disposing these dead bodies on an average in 9.7 days; in accordance with the law and as per the customary rituals, where ever possible. This reflects an extraordinary work beyond the routine tasks given to this indispensable and highly motivated worker. Conclusions: However, this points to a possible need for development of a mechanism, where it is not dependent on individual efforts. 

scholarly journals COVID-19 isolation and containment strategies for ships: Lessons from the USS Theodore Roosevelt outbreak

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madison Stoddard ◽  
Kaitlyn Johnson ◽  
Doug White ◽  
Ryan Nolan ◽  
Natasha Hochberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Aircraft Carrier ◽  
Theodore Roosevelt ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Passenger Ships ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Mass Evacuation ◽  
Rapid Mass

AbstractThe control of shipborne disease outbreaks represents a vexing but entirely predictable challenge at the start of any pandemic. Passenger ships, with large numbers of people confined in close quarters, can serve as incubators of disease, seeding the pandemic across the globe as infected passengers return home. Short-term steps taken by local authorities can exacerbate this problem, creating humanitarian crises and worsening the scale of the outbreak. In this work, we have undertaken a model-based examination of the USS Theodore Roosevelt outbreak to understand the dynamics of COVID-19 spread aboard the aircraft carrier. We have used a series of counterfactual “what-if” analyses to better understand the options available to public health authorities in such situations. The models suggest that rapid mass evacuation and widespread surveillance testing can be effective in these settings. Our results lead to a set of generalizable recommendations for disease control that are broadly applicable to the current COVID-19 crisis as well as to future pandemics.

scholarly journals COVID-19 vaccine prioritisation to the groups with the most interactions can substantially reduce total fatalities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Rodríguez ◽  
Mauricio Patón ◽  
Juan M Acuña
Keyword(s):  
Compartmental Model ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Population Coverage ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Vaccine Distribution ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Short Time

SummaryBackgroundThe unprecedented rapid development of vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus creates in itself a new challenge for governments and health authorities: the effective vaccination of large numbers of people in a short time and, possibly, with shortage of vaccine doses. To whom vaccinate first and in what sequence, if any at all, to avoid the most fatalities remains an open question.MethodsA compartmental model considering age-related groups was developed to evaluate and compare vaccine distribution strategies in terms of the total avoidable fatalities. Population groups are established based on relevant differences in mortality (due to e.g. their age) and risk-related traits (such as their behaviour and number of daily person-to-person interactions). Vaccination distribution strategies were evaluated for different vaccine effectiveness levels and population coverage in a case study for Spain.FindingsOur results unambiguously show that planning vaccination by priority groups can achieve dramatic reductions in total fatalities compared to no prioritisation. Our results also indicate that the best strategy for vaccine distributions appears to be to prioritise groups with the highest number of daily person-to-person interactions. This is due to the importance of the avoided subsequent infections inflicted on the rest of the population by those in those groups.InterpretationThese results are in direct contradiction with several published guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination and therefore highlight the importance of conducting an open comprehensive and thorough analysis of this problem leaving behind possible preconceptions.

Abstract 17460: Initial Clinical Experience with the Medtronic LinQ Loop Recorder: Concerns about Data Deluge

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geordan S Kushner BA ◽  
Martha Ferrara CNP ◽  
Obiananma Nwokike BS ◽  
Aysha Arshad MD ◽  
Dan Musat MD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Experience ◽  
Cryptogenic Stroke ◽  
Manual Transmission ◽  
Loop Recorder ◽  
Similar Frequency ◽  
Remote Management ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Unexplained Syncope ◽  
Initial Clinical Experience

Introduction: Long-term ECG monitoring is often necessary in patients (pts) with unexplained syncope and suspected or known atrial fibrillation (AF). The recently released Medtronic LinQ loop recorder (ILR) accrues ECG data daily; “alert” conditions are wirelessly transmitted to providers. To date, the frequency and characteristics of these alerts are unknown. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that alerts would occur infrequently, thus allowing for remote management of large numbers of pts. Methods: Consecutive pts implanted with the LinQ were assessed. All alerts were collected and analyzed. Alerts ideally reflect a change within the past 24 hours of monitoring. However, some alerts (once triggered) perpetuate daily until cleared by a patient initiating a manual transmission. Results: Our first 100 LinQ pts (mean age 67.5 years; 51% male) implanted within the first 3 months of market release were assessed. The indications for monitoring included suspected AF (cryptogenic stroke, n=10; history of atrial flutter, n=1), known AF (n=61), and unexplained syncope (n=25). During follow-up, an alert occurred in 63 pts; a similar frequency of alerts occurred in AF and syncope pts (Figure). Once present, 29 (46%) alerts perpetuated daily and required manual transmission to clear. Conclusion: We report the initial clinical experience with the LinQ ILR. We found that alerts occurred frequently, irrespective of indication for monitoring. Once present, alerts were frequently perpetuated due to a major design limitation. A more robust system is needed to triage the data being accrued to prevent unnecessary data deluge.

An Exploration of Homesickness among Student Nurses

1981 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Porritt ◽  
D. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Clinical Experience ◽  
Student Nurses ◽  
Residential Relocation ◽  
Therapeutic Implications ◽  
Adjustment Difficulties ◽  
Self Reliance ◽  
Intensive Interview ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Attachment Behaviour

Clinical experience of the author and literature reports suggest that homesickness can be an important factor in adjustment difficulties among student nurses. Following previous studies of residential relocation, homesickness is conceptualised as a grief reaction. It is suggested that attempts to maintain attachment to home and family will also be involved. A scale of ‘homesickness symptoms’ based on this conceptualisation was developed and administered to 185 student nurses, 85 after 4 months of training and 100 after 10 months. Results supported the view that homesickness is a state involving both grief behaviour and attachment behaviour. Recency of separation increased the likelihood of reporting many symptoms. The numbers reporting large numbers of symptoms declined after the first 6 weeks but remained steady at 40–50% thereafter. Students with easier access to their homes were not less likely to report many symptoms initially, but were more likely to report fewer symptoms after the first 6 weeks. Some findings of a more intensive interview study of studnets, some of whom appeared never to have been homesick, some to have recovered, and some to have continued being homesick, are described. Finally, the therapeutic implications of the results are discussed and the potential of further research for elucidation of attachment behaviour in young adults and of maturation to self-reliance is suggested.

scholarly journals Problems of Ethics and Scholarship in Nursing Publications

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Crimean War ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Florence Nightingale ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Mary Seacole ◽  
Heavy Work ◽  
High Standards

This article relates the flagrant instances of misinformation on Florence Nightingale, the major founder of professional nursing, in 2020, the bicentenary of her birth, and 2021. It notes the new trend to “pair” Nightingale with another supposed “nursing pioneer,” who was a businesswoman and generous volunteer, Mary Seacole, but who never portrayed herself as a nurse. The article goes on to cite the promotion of misinformation on the two by no less than the Queen, in her Christmas message of 2020, and by her heir, the Prince of Wales, on 12 May 2021, Nightingale’s birthday and International Nurses Day. The most extreme example of misinformation is that of the prince, who claimed joint status for Seacole with Nightingale in achieving the sanitary reforms in the Crimean War that saved large numbers of lives. Unlike Seacole, Nightingale played a role in these reforms, but credited the doctors and engineers of the Sanitary Commission who did the heavy work of renovation. The article calls for high standards of ethics and scholarship in nursing and health care publication. Health authorities, such as Britain’s National Health Service, should be the source of reliable information, especially in a pandemic. Misinformation on mere “historical” matters, not clinical, is not acceptable. Diversity and inclusion are valid goals of any health care system, but should be pursued with integrity. The article introduces a fine Black nursing leader, Kofoworola Abeni Pratt, who is ignored and yet should be celebrated for her contributions to nursing both in England and her home country, Nigeria.

scholarly journals Bacterial contamination of hospital food with special reference toClostridium welchiifood poisoning

1959 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. McKillop
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Bacterial Flora ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
Laboratory Service ◽  
The Public ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Serological Typing ◽  
Cooked Food

1. An examination of eighty-nine samples of uncooked and thirty-eight samples of cooked food purchased by one particular hospital showed that the purchased food was bacteriologically clean.2. A similar examination of 173 samples of food after it was cooked and prepared for serving in the hospital kitchens showed that, with the exception of cold chicken, the bacterial flora was greatly reduced by cooking. Ten of forty-six samples of cold chicken, however, were contaminated with fairly large numbers ofCl. welchii.3. An investigation into the cooking and handling of the fowls indicated that contamination of the cooked fowls with kitchen dust was a probable explanation for the presence ofCl. welchii.4. Immediate refrigeration of the fowls, well separated on shallow trays, was shown to be a satisfactory method of preventing the growth of contaminatingCl. welchiito any dangerous extent.5. Six outbreaks of food poisoning, in which there was an association between cold chicken and the clinical symptoms ofCl. welchiifood poisoning, are reported and discussed.I have pleasure in thanking Dr Betty Hobbs of the Food Hygiene Laboratory of the Public Health Laboratory Service at Colindale for the serological typing of numerous strains ofCl. welchii; Mr D. B. Colquhoun for assistance with the phage-typing of the staphylococci; Mr G. Kerr for the photography; and the kitchen staff in the hospital concerned for making possible the numerous samplings of food and the other inquiries into the day-to-day affairs of the hospital catering department.

scholarly journals The Milk Supply of the City of Edinburgh

1920 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Cunningham ◽  
B. A. Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Milk Supply ◽  
Bacterial Counts ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Fermentation Test ◽  
Bacterial Content ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The City

In tests of 40 samples of milk from the supply of the city of Edinburgh:(1) The bacterial content was, on the average, high but not abnormally so when compared with that of the milk supply of other cities. It ranged from 20,000 to 29,000,000 per c.c.(2) The results of the reductase test corresponded well with the bacterial counts and the test is recommended for obtaining a good rough idea of the bacterial numbers present, where results are required in a short time.(3) About half of the samples contained lactose-fermenting organisms in unduly high numbers; this is attributed chiefly to the lack of attention to cleanliness in production.(4) The value of the fermentation test for speedily indicating the nature of bacterial contamination is pointed out. In a general way the test corroborated the results of counts of the lactose fermenters and indicated that a number of the samples, which did not produce blown curds, contained large numbers of undesirable organisms.(5) Taken as a whole, the results seem to indicate not so much particularly high contamination as contamination of a very undesirable nature. They point to the necessity of educating the producer and distributor in the principles underlying the production of clean milk and emphasise the importance of proper control of the industry from this point of view.

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