OBJECTIVE To assess the presence of microorganism contamination in the preservation solution for transplant organs (kidney/pancreas). METHOD Between August 2007 and March 2008, 136 samples of preservation solution were studied prior to graft implantation. Variables related to the donor and to the presence of microorganisms in the preservation solution of organs were evaluated, after which the...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Point-of-care testing using capillary blood from a finger prick is widely used for predonation haemoglobin testing of blood donors. It is common practice to cover the finger prick with a cotton swab and to instruct the donor to press for few minutes. The finger prick can cause blood contamination of surfaces in contact with the lanced finger, especially door handles, r...

BACKGROUND Many patients suffer from recurrent Staphylococcus aureus infections, but there are few data examining recurrence predictors. METHODS We followed adults and children after treatment for S. aureus skin infections and their household contacts in Los Angeles and Chicago. We surveyed subjects for S. aureus body colonization, household fomite contamination, and behavioral and clinical f...

Fresh sugarcane juice is sold by street vendors without any heat treatment in São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil. Twenty-four samples of point-ofsale juice were tested by standard methods to determine heterotrophic bacteria, total and thermo-tolerant coliform counts, Salmonella, and parasites in the juice. 25% of samples showed poor sanitary conditions, with thermotolerant coliform levels higher tha...

This article is the second of a three-part series that investigates the application of the ventilation equations to designing and testing cleanrooms. This part is concerned with the decay equation. The recovery test, described in ISO 14644-3 (2005) is discussed, and improvements recommended. The application of the decay equation to the ‘clean up’ requirement given in the EU GGMP (2008) is also ...

The flow of transgenes into landraces and wild relatives is an important biosafety concern. The case of transgene flow into local maize varieties in Mexico (the center of origin of maize) has been intensively debated over the past 15 years, including legal, political, and environmental disputes fanned by the existence of a significant scientific controversy over the methods used for the detecti...

OBJECTIVE This prospective study aims to identify and compare the incidence of bacterial contamination of hospital charts and the distribution of species responsible for chart contamination in different units of a tertiary hospital. METHODS All beds in medical, surgical, pediatric, and obstetric-gynecologic general wards (556) and those in corresponding special units (125) including medical, ...

Although core, animal-reminder, and contamination disgust are viewed as distinct "types" of disgust vulnerabilities, the extent to which individual differences in the three disgust domains uniquely predict contamination-related anxiety and avoidance remains unclear. Three studies were conducted to fill this important gap in the literature. Study 1 was conducted to first determine if the three t...

In this article, the fifth in a series reviewing the role of food workers in foodborne outbreaks, background information on the routes of infection for food workers is considered. Contamination most frequently occurs via the fecal-oral route, when pathogens are present in the feces of ill, convalescent, or otherwise colonized persons. It is difficult for managers of food operations to identify ...