Preventing Infection

Recent multistate outbreaks of hepatitis A among homeless populations and their contacts prompted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue an official Health Advisory in June 2018. The advisory provides guidance on hepatitis A infection to employees in health departments, healthcare facilities, and programs providing services to vulnerable populations. Several months before the advisory was issued, I was part of a collaborative group to develop a set of “pictogram posters” that communicate how to use chlorine bleach solutions to disinfect surfaces against the hepatitis A virus.... Read More »

Reusable grocery bags (let’s call them “RGBs”) are a common commodity these days. I use them regularly and machine-wash them periodically with bleach, when possible, to keep them clean and sanitized. Using RGBs involves a degree of extra effort, not the least of which is remembering to take them to the grocery store, but I... Read More »

We’re flying more than ever. The US Department of Transportation reported US and foreign airlines serving the United States carried an all-time high of 965 million domestic and international passengers in 2017. Airlines do a very good job of delivering us to our destinations, but what are the risks of our contracting an infectious illness... Read More »

As the seasonal flu spreads across the country, a new study demonstrates that flu can be transmitted from person to person by simple breathing. Researchers have concluded that inhaling the exhaled breath of an infected individual may be all it takes to spread the flu virus. Coughing and sneezing are not required. This finding lends... Read More »