Sep 15, 2009
Study finds no protection from surgical masks
Surgical masks don't protect healthcare workers, but N95 respirators do, according to a 5-week trial at 24 Chinese hospitals. Results of the trial, headed by researchers from Australia, were presented today at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. The study involved 1,936 healthcare workers and also showed that fit-testing did not appear to boost N95 efficacy. A federal group recently said that workers caring for H1N1 patients should use fit-tested N95s.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aom5wokKoMSo
Sep 15 Bloomberg News story
Business travel group advises curbing handshakes
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) yesterday urged its members to temporarily suspend business handshakes until the threat of the pandemic H1N1 virus subsides. The group said business travelers might be less willing to soil their business suits covering coughs and sneezes with their sleeves and cuffs and that eliminating the handshake could reduce person-to-person spread. The group also recommends that business travelers carry hand sanitizer and get vaccinated.
http://www.acte.org/resources/press_release.php?id=434
Sep 14 ACTE press release
CDC issues new vaccine safety resources
Yesterday the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued documents addressing pandemic H1N1 vaccine safety, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), thimerosal, and general immunization issues. The CDC notes that each year 1 to 2 people per 100,000 develop GBS, whether or not they are vaccinated. Though research has found no evidence that thimerosal preservative is unsafe, two versions of the vaccine won't need to contain it: single-use and inhaled units.
http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=14846&s_cid=cs_000_sw
CDC Q&A on Guillain-Barre syndrome
Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 said to be less transmissible
The same genetic mutation that makes the pandemic H1N1 virus resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) also reduces its ability to spread to others, said David Mercer, acting head of the communicable disease unit in the World Health Organization's European regional office, as reported by Bloomberg News today. He noted that 23 oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 cases have been identified. Public health officials are concerned that overuse of the drug may lead to widespread resistance.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aG.qKHeqAsi4
Sep 15 Bloomberg News report
Restaurant carves out flu-control niche
A restaurant in a Spanish suburb of Madrid has specialized in preventing pandemic H1N1 flu and other infectious diseases by adopting measures such as taking employee temperatures at the start of each shift, washing menus after each use, and placing tables farther apart, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The eatery is designed so that customers don't need to touch doorknobs, faucets, or light switches.
http://www.dailymail.com/foodandliving/200909140077
Sep 14 AP story
