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>That means, say infectious-disease experts, that their best tools for defending patients remain those that depend on the performance of health personnel: handw
by scythe 13y ago
>That means, say infectious-disease experts, that their best tools for defending patients remain those that depend on the performance of health personnel: handwashing, the use of gloves and gowns, and aggressive environmental cleaning. Yet even research that could improve best practices has been short-changed, says Eli Perencevich, an infectious-diseases physician and epidemiologist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City who studies how resistant bacteria move around hospitals. “We haven't invested in research in how to optimize even standard infection-control practices. We just blame the health-care workers when they go wrong.”
It seems that a possible positive outcome of this could be cleaner hospitals. No infection is better than a treatable infection. Even if CREs are controlled, even if new antibiotics are developed, these outbreaks will keep happening and resistance will keep developing. Developing effective yet practical hygiene procedures is the only way to solve the problem once and for all.
- LaGrange 13y agoIt's harder than just "cleaner". The bacteria killed in disinfection procedures tends to leave space for more horrifying stuff that's also more resistant – you won't really find http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcus_aureus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcus_aureus on toilet seats outside of hospitals, unless you went and used Vircon on them.
- eurleif 13y agoWould introducing probiotics after disinfection do anything?
- LaGrange 13y agoIt's complicated, and quickly gets outside of my knowledge (I was only mildly involved in hospital stuff), but one big problem is, the same bacteria can be beneficial or lots of trouble depending on where it is, and you may be reintroducing exactly the same thing you just killed (think E.Coli).
- ams6110 13y agoAs a surgeon I know says, "the last place you want to be if you're sick is in a hospital."
- Qantourisc 13y agoThe best type of "cleaner" here is soap. If they do become "resistant" to washing off, or then you still have your disinfectants and antibiotics.
- venomsnake 13y agoI think that pure NaOH works better. It is almost impossible to have cell wall not made of some kind of fat acids. Doubt anything can survive such a strong base.