- Email: [email protected]
vCJD sparks high precautions again
trol of infectious disease, is now easier for health workers to access. Published by the American Public Health Association (APHA), this prestigious reference guide to the world's infectious disease is now available on CD-ROM. It is also available as a searchable online version with a digital file that can be downloaded. Now in its 18th edition, the manual covers more than 140 diseases and disease groups. In addition, the manual has been broadened to meet the needs of developing countries and wilt be available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic. The book and CDROM version can be ordered from the APHA: 888-320-2742, [email protected], or www.apha, org/media.
New Egg Safety Regulations The FDA has proposed a new regulation directed at improving egg safety by requiring more farmers to institute salmonella prevention measures. The regulation would require salmonella control procedures for egg producers with more than 300 laying hens that don't already use treatment measures such as pasteurization. The safety regulations include guidelines for refrigeration, pest and rodent control, cleaning and disinfecting poultry houses. Each farm would have a person designated at responsible for salmonella prevention. The FDA estimates that the implementation of these regulations will affect about 4,100 egg producers and cost more than $80,000,000 per year. The
Editors: Mary Jane Ferraro Betty Ann Forbes Paul A. Granato Josephine A. Morello © 2005 Elsevier Inc. ISSN 0196-4399 CMNEEJ 27(4)35-42, 2005 Elsevier
regulations have the support of numerous public health advocates, agencies, and organizations. For details on the proposed regulations, visit www.fda.gov.
vCJD Sparks High Precautions Again In September 2004, the British government's chief medical officer reported that 6,000 people have been informed that they may have been exposed to the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Two cases of suspected transmission of the infective agent through a blood transfusion were reported. Both patients received blood from donors who were later identified as being infected. As a precaution, Britain banned anyone who has had transfusions in the past 20 years from donating blood after the first case was reported. While the risk of people developing the deadly degenerative brain disease was very small, the government was taking a "highly precautionary" approach. Britain took several measures to insure the safety of its blood supplies in the late 1990s. The news release concerning this report can be viewed at www.cnn.com/virtual/
editions/europe/2OOO/roof/change.pop/ frameset, exclude.html. In a recent (late 2004) case in the U.S., a cow tested reactive in both the first and second screens. However, in subsequent testing the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL)
in Ames, Iowa, determined that the inconclusive screening test sample reported as reactive on 18 November 2004 tested negative for BSE upon confirmatory testing. By protocol, NVSL used the immunohistochemistry test, an internationally recognized "gold / standard" test for BSE, and received a negative result on 22 November. The final report can be seen at www.usda.gov/
wps/portal//ut/p/_s.7 0 A/7 0 10B ?contentidonly=true &contentid= 2004/ 11/0508.xml.
Experts Nix Antibiotics in Kiddies New guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of middle ear infections in children now recommend that the majority of patients be treated without antibiotics. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians jointly issued a change in treatment policy as a step in fighting the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The new guideline, "Diagnosis and management of Acute Otis Media," encourages observation for the first 48 to 72 h and to treat symptomatically. The guidelines are intended for otherwise healthy children between the ages of 2 months and 12 years. The recommendations will also decrease the side effects of allergy as well as saving health care dollars. For more information, visit www.aap.org or www.aasfp.org/
x26481.xml.
General Information Subscription information can be found inside the front cover. This newsletter has been registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. Consent is given for copying articles for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific clients. This consent is given on the condition that the copier pay through the Center the per-page fee stated in the code on the first page for copying beyond that permitted by the US Copyright Law. If no code appears on an article, the author has not given broad consent to copy and permission to copy must be obtained directly from the author. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as for general distribution, resale, advertising and promotional purposes, or for creating new collective works. Address orders, changes of address, and claims for missing issues to Journal Fulfillment Department, Elsevier Science Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Claims for missing issues can be honored only up to three months for domestic addresses and six months for foreign addresses. Duplicate copies will not be sent to replace ones undelivered due to failure to notify Elsevier of change of address. Postmaster: Send address changes to Clinical Microbiology Newsletter, Elsevier Science Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Editorials and letters printed in this newsletter are published for the interest of the readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors. Clinical Microbiology Newsletter is abstracted in Tropical Diseases Bulletin, Abstracts on Hygiene
and Communicable Diseases, EMBASE/Exeerpta Medica, and Current AIDS Literature. Full text of this and previous issues can viewed online using the ScienceDirect or ScienceDirect Web-Editions services. Visit http://www.sciencedirect.com or http://www.web-editions.com for more details and access.
42
0196-4399/00 (seefrontmatter)
© 2005 Elsevier
Clinical MicrobiologyNewsletter27:5,2005
New Egg Safety Regulations The FDA has proposed a new regulation directed at improving egg safety by requiring more farmers to institute salmonella prevention measures. The regulation would require salmonella control procedures for egg producers with more than 300 laying hens that don't already use treatment measures such as pasteurization. The safety regulations include guidelines for refrigeration, pest and rodent control, cleaning and disinfecting poultry houses. Each farm would have a person designated at responsible for salmonella prevention. The FDA estimates that the implementation of these regulations will affect about 4,100 egg producers and cost more than $80,000,000 per year. The
Editors: Mary Jane Ferraro Betty Ann Forbes Paul A. Granato Josephine A. Morello © 2005 Elsevier Inc. ISSN 0196-4399 CMNEEJ 27(4)35-42, 2005 Elsevier
regulations have the support of numerous public health advocates, agencies, and organizations. For details on the proposed regulations, visit www.fda.gov.
vCJD Sparks High Precautions Again In September 2004, the British government's chief medical officer reported that 6,000 people have been informed that they may have been exposed to the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Two cases of suspected transmission of the infective agent through a blood transfusion were reported. Both patients received blood from donors who were later identified as being infected. As a precaution, Britain banned anyone who has had transfusions in the past 20 years from donating blood after the first case was reported. While the risk of people developing the deadly degenerative brain disease was very small, the government was taking a "highly precautionary" approach. Britain took several measures to insure the safety of its blood supplies in the late 1990s. The news release concerning this report can be viewed at www.cnn.com/virtual/
editions/europe/2OOO/roof/change.pop/ frameset, exclude.html. In a recent (late 2004) case in the U.S., a cow tested reactive in both the first and second screens. However, in subsequent testing the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL)
in Ames, Iowa, determined that the inconclusive screening test sample reported as reactive on 18 November 2004 tested negative for BSE upon confirmatory testing. By protocol, NVSL used the immunohistochemistry test, an internationally recognized "gold / standard" test for BSE, and received a negative result on 22 November. The final report can be seen at www.usda.gov/
wps/portal//ut/p/_s.7 0 A/7 0 10B ?contentidonly=true &contentid= 2004/ 11/0508.xml.
Experts Nix Antibiotics in Kiddies New guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of middle ear infections in children now recommend that the majority of patients be treated without antibiotics. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians jointly issued a change in treatment policy as a step in fighting the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The new guideline, "Diagnosis and management of Acute Otis Media," encourages observation for the first 48 to 72 h and to treat symptomatically. The guidelines are intended for otherwise healthy children between the ages of 2 months and 12 years. The recommendations will also decrease the side effects of allergy as well as saving health care dollars. For more information, visit www.aap.org or www.aasfp.org/
x26481.xml.
General Information Subscription information can be found inside the front cover. This newsletter has been registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. Consent is given for copying articles for personal or internal use, or for the personal or internal use of specific clients. This consent is given on the condition that the copier pay through the Center the per-page fee stated in the code on the first page for copying beyond that permitted by the US Copyright Law. If no code appears on an article, the author has not given broad consent to copy and permission to copy must be obtained directly from the author. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as for general distribution, resale, advertising and promotional purposes, or for creating new collective works. Address orders, changes of address, and claims for missing issues to Journal Fulfillment Department, Elsevier Science Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Claims for missing issues can be honored only up to three months for domestic addresses and six months for foreign addresses. Duplicate copies will not be sent to replace ones undelivered due to failure to notify Elsevier of change of address. Postmaster: Send address changes to Clinical Microbiology Newsletter, Elsevier Science Inc., 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. Editorials and letters printed in this newsletter are published for the interest of the readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors. Clinical Microbiology Newsletter is abstracted in Tropical Diseases Bulletin, Abstracts on Hygiene
and Communicable Diseases, EMBASE/Exeerpta Medica, and Current AIDS Literature. Full text of this and previous issues can viewed online using the ScienceDirect or ScienceDirect Web-Editions services. Visit http://www.sciencedirect.com or http://www.web-editions.com for more details and access.
42
0196-4399/00 (seefrontmatter)
© 2005 Elsevier
Clinical MicrobiologyNewsletter27:5,2005