Boiling is the most common method of disinfecting water in the home and the benchmark against which other point-of-use water treatment is measured. In a six-week study in peri-urban Zambia, we assessed the microbiological effectiveness and potential cost of boiling among 49 households without a water connection who reported "always" or "almost always" boiling their water before drinking it. Sou...

Low-colony-number counts on solid media are considered characteristic of cross-contamination, although they are normally observed in true-positive cultures from some groups of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate low-yield growth cultures as a microbiological marker for cross-contamination. We evaluated 106 cultures with <15 colonies from 94 patients, and the proportions of false-pos...

Microorganisms which contaminate animal feeds pose a threat not only to animals but also indirectly to humans through their consumption of products of animal origin. The aim of the present study was to assess microbiological cleanness of selected resources and ready-made feed mixtures before and after thermal processing. The results indicated that the most bacteriologically contaminated resourc...

BACKGROUND This study examines the microbial and fungal contamination associated with the presence of renovation works in a hospital site in Sardinia (Italy). METHODS Microbiological environmental monitoring was carried out before, during and at the conclusion of the works in the Ophthalmology Department in view of a risk assessment procedure. RESULTS Although the median values of microbial...

INTRODUCTION The air contamination levels during orthopedic surgeries were evaluated. METHODS The air of operating rooms (ORs) was examined through exposure to microbiological plates placed near the surgical table for an hour. RESULTS values above that recommended (369 CFU/m³) for conventional ORs and ORs with ultraclean air were determined. Contamination was predominantly by Staphylococcus...

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxic substances in foods, posing considerable health risk to humans. Microbiological decontamination of mycotoxins using microorganisms is one of the well-known strategies for the management of mycotoxins. Numerous organisms, including bacteria, fungi and yeasts have been tested for their ability in reducing mycotoxigenic fungi and resultant mycotoxin contami...

BACKGROUND Healthcare associated infections are an important threat of Public Health. Several studies investigated the possible role played by the hospital environment in the transmission of nosocomial pathogens. In addition to the "classic" nosocomial surfaces, some researches focused their attention on "alternative" surfaces. Little is known about the protective lead garments used in operatin...

INTRODUCTION Every week, haemodialysis patients are exposed to approximately 400 l of water used for the production of dialysis fluids which, albeit with the interposition of a semi-permeable artificial membrane, come into direct contact with the bloodstream. It is therefore clearly important to know and monitor the chemical and microbiological purity of dialysis water. METHODS In this review...