News & Views

Healthcare workers on intensive care units (ICUs) are regularly missing opportunities to clean their hands during the care of patients, despite its critical importance for infection control, according to new research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 April). Worryingly, the authors say, hand…

Through hygiene education, we can raise awareness, enhance knowledge, and modify behavioural intentions about infection prevention and antibiotic use in our future generation. In a blog to mark International Children’s Day, the e-bug team say “Educating children and young people about hygiene and infection prevention is important in the fight against foodborne illnesses. e-Bug, led…

The more rainfall a region in sub-Saharan Africa gets, the more mosquitoes proliferate there and the more likely its residents will sleep under their insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria transmission, a new study from the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs suggests. CCP is based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.…

If you are experiencing sinus drainage, congestion or pain, consider the following: Acupuncture. It can be remarkably effective for relieving acute sinusitis. Acupuncture can ease pain and promote sinus drainage within minutes of the placement of the needles. Hot compresses. Help promote sinus drainage by placing very warm, wet compresses over the whole sinus area (be sure…

The best remedy for mosquito bites – including those that transmit disease – is to prevent them in the first place. Use these tips to help stay bite-free this summer: Stay indoors at dusk when mosquitoes are out and about. Cover up by wearing loose-fitting, long-sleeved tops, and tuck long pants into your socks. Stay…

If you suffer from red, scaly, dry patches of skin that are extremely itchy, you may have eczema. Also known as atopic dermatitis, eczema is an allergy-related skin condition common in young adults, children and infants. Simple measures can often help to minimize symptoms and provide relief. Instead of turning to the topical steroids often…

The ability to breathe properly is fundamental to good health. Don’t take the health of your respiratory system for granted, even if you are not a smoker/vaper – consider these supplements, which can help to promote lung health: Vitamin C. This water-soluble vitamin can provide additional protection against the oxidative effects of air pollution and…

The Slow Food Movement – which started in Italy in the 1980s – encourages people to slow the pace of life in order to truly savor not only foods and beverages, but the pleasure of eating and the companionship of friends and family sitting around the table. Traditional foods that are fresh, made from local…

Next time when you eat an apple for extra fibre, flavonoids, and flavour—remember that you are also gulping down about 100 million bacteria; and whether these are good or bad microbes may depend on how the apples were grown. Most microbes are inside the apple but the strains depend on which bits you eat, and…

Clostridium difficile, commonly referred to as C.diff, is a grave concern for hospitals — and for good reason. The infection can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to inflammation of the colon that, if serious enough, may result death. More than a half million people deal with C. diff in the United States each year and…