The Spread of Superbugs
June 30, 2010 by Web Coordinator
Filed under Indoor Life News
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Mr. Dukes is a reminder that as long as we’re examining our health care system, we need to scrutinize more than insurance companies. We also need to curb the way modern agribusiness madly overuses antibiotics, leaving them 
ineffective for sick humans.
Antibacterial drugs were revolutionary when they were introduced in the United States in 1936, virtually eliminating diseases like tuberculosis here and making surgery and childbirth far safer. But now we’re seeing increasing numbers of superbugs that survive antibiotics. One of the best-known — MRSA, a kind of staph infection — kills about 18,000 Americans annually. That’s more than die of AIDS.
Mr. Dukes, 52, picked up a kind of bacteria called ESBL-producing E. coli. While it’s conceivable that he touched a contaminated surface, a likely scenario is that he ate tainted meat, said Dr. Brad Spellberg, an infectious-diseases specialist and the author of “Rising Plague,” a book about antibiotic resistance.
Vegetarians are also vulnerable to antibiotic resistance nurtured in hog barns. Microbes swap genes, so antibiotic resistance developed in pigs can jump to microbes that infect humans in hospitals, locker rooms, schools or homes.
Routine use of antibiotics to raise livestock is widely seen as a major reason for the rise of superbugs. But Congress and the Obama administration have refused to curb agriculture’s addiction to antibiotics, apparently because of the power of the agribusiness lobby.
The ESBL E. coli initially remained in Mr. Dukes’s colon, causing no particular damage. But then he suffered an inflammation that perforated his colon — and the bacteria escaped.
Mr. Dukes began suffering stomach pains and saw his doctor, who gave him Cipro, a strong antibiotic that had previously worked against the infection. This time, the pain grew worse. The next evening, he was in surgery to remove eight inches of his colon.
A culture attributed the infection partly to ESBL E. coli. Doctors inserted a tube to administer an intravenous antibiotic in an effort to save his life.
If ESBL E. coli is frightening, there are even more potent superbugs emerging, like Acinetobacter.
“We are seeing infections caused by Acinetobacter and special bacteria called KPC Klebsiella that are literally resistant to every antibiotic that is F.D.A. approved,” Dr. Spellberg said. “These are untreatable infections. This is the first time since 1936, the year that sulfa hit the market in the U.S., that we have had this problem.”
The Infectious Diseases Society of America, an organization of doctors and scientists, has been bellowing alarms. It fears that we could slip back to a world in which we’re defenseless against bacterial diseases.
There’s broad agreement that doctors themselves overprescribe antibiotics — but also that a big part of the problem is factory farms. They feed low doses of antibiotics to hogs, cattle and poultry to make them grow faster.
A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that in the United States, 70 percent of antibiotics are used to feed healthy livestock, with 14 percent more used to treat sick livestock. Only about 16 percent are used to treat humans and their pets, the study found.
More antibiotics are fed to livestock in North Carolina alone than are given to humans in the entire United States, according to the peer-reviewed Medical Clinics of North America. It concluded that antibiotics in livestock feed were “a major component” in the rise of antibiotic resistance.
Legislation introduced by Louise Slaughter, a New Yorker who is the only microbiologist in the House of Representatives, would curb the routine use of antibiotics in farming. The bill has 104 co-sponsors, but agribusiness interests have blocked it in committee — and the Obama administration and the Senate have dodged the issue.
After weeks of receiving intravenous antibiotics, Mr. Dukes is now recovering at home in Lomita, Calif. He must use a colostomy bag, but he hopes to be patched up and ready to return to work next month. Still, he knows that the ESBL E. coli remains in his gut.
“As long as it’s contained in my colon, I’m a happy camper,” he said. “But if it gets out again, I’m in trouble.”
Dr. Martin J. Blaser, chairman of the department of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, and a former president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, agrees that agricultural use of antibiotics produces cheaper meat. But he says the price may be an enormous toll in human health.
“You could have very lethal pandemics,” he said. “We’re brewing some perfect storms.”
XMICROBE™ Mode of Action
June 29, 2010 by admin
Filed under How Does XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial Work
Click to play the Organosilane Mode of Action!
XMICROBE™
Long Lasting Germ Protection !
Hospital Infection Problem Persists
June 29, 2010 by Web Coordinator
Filed under Indoor Life News
New York Times -
By KEVIN SACK
The nagging and largely solvable problem of hospital-acquired infections remains as resistant to cure as the germs that contribute to an estimated 100,000 deaths a year, according to an annual government study issued Tuesday.
Despite a renewed focus on prevention and threats of governmental sanctions, hospitals continue to see increased rates of post-operative bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality reported. The rates increased by 8 percent for bloodstream infections and 4 percent for urinary tract infections over the year before.
There was no change in the incidence of bloodstream infections caused by the placement of catheters in central veins. The only positive news came from a 12 percent reduction in the rate of post-operative pneumonia.
The report concluded that hospital-acquired infections merited “urgent attention.”
Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, the agency’s director, pointed out that projects across the country had shown remarkable success in reducing infection rates by adhering to basic standards for hand hygiene, disinfection of patients, sterile handling of equipment and proper use of antibiotics. But at many hospitals those successes have yet to overcome an entrenched medical culture.
“Despite promising improvements in a few areas of health care,” Dr. Clancy said, “we are not achieving the more substantial strides that are needed to address persistent gaps in quality and access.”
Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, called the trend troubling but said the new health care law would “help turn these numbers around.” Under the law, hospitals with high rates of infections will be penalized by the government starting in the 2015 fiscal year.
The agency has been releasing its Congressionally mandated reports on health care quality and disparities since 2003. Over all, this year’s report found that the quality of care, based on 33 separate measures, was improving but at a slow pace.
The study found deep disparities in access to health care between those with insurance and those without it. For instance, 74 percent of women ages 40 to 64 who had insurance had received a mammogram in the previous two years, compared with 38 percent of those without insurance. Children were twice as likely to have had a dental exam in the past year if they were insured.
View Your Online Shopping Cart
June 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under View Your Online Shopping Cart
Have you finished shopping yet? If so, click here to continue to checkout and thank you for your business.
If not, please consider our Online IASQ™ Certified Professional Indoor Air and Surface Quality Course or our XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial available on the right side of this or any page.
XMICROBE™ – A Greener Approach to Extended Sanitization
June 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under How Does XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial Work
BioShield Services, LLC has developed a technology centered around XMICROBE™ a silicone quaternary ammonium salt microbiostatic agent which provides a durable, long acting, environmental friendly surface protection. While there are no “green” disinfectants, XMICROBE™ supports many of the twelve principles of green chemistry as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)1.
The following specifics relate to those principles which apply to the use of XMICROBE™ and are identified using the numbers and headings from the USEPA list:
Prevention:
XMICROBE™ is applied as a spray and generates no excess solutions which must be disposed of. Remaining solution is stable and may be stored for use in the next application.
Designing Safer Chemicals:
Upon application, XMICROBE™ bonds first to the surface and then to itself through its cohesive bonding properties forming a large co-polymer compound. The special bonding abilities of XMICROBE™ can be attributed to its multifunctional bonding receptors. Each bonding site, on the surfaces that are treated or the cell membrane’s receptor proteins, are easily adhered to because XMICROBE™ contains a variety of complimentary binding proteins. The multivariate bonding combinations make XMICROBE™ an excellent combatant for treating surfaces against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, molds, yeast, mildew, and algae. It is extremely effective in destroying Staph, MRSA, E. coli, Salmonella and Influenza A. Once bonded XMICROBE™ immediately begins its assault against microbes using long protein chains which are synthesized from highly reactive, positively charged “R” group amino acids. It is because of the charged “R” group that XMICROBE™ has the ability to bond to a wide diversity of negatively charged, infectious and potentially fast spreading micro organisms. Because the bonds formed between XMICROBE™ and the microbes are covalent bonds the strength of the bond has no dislodgeable residue leaching, off-gassing migration or diffusion of the molecule. Once the bond has been established the length and reactivity of the molecular proteins spikes work quickly and effectively in eliminating the micro organism threat. The methodology is mechanical in nature preventing any creation of resistant strains or toxic residues. Normal cleaning removes any dirt, residue or dead organisms allowing the efficacy of the polymer surface to continue.
Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries:
XMICROBE™ continues to hold its bond even after the annihilation of the micro organism which has a twofold benefit. One, since the covalent bond between XMICROBE™ and the unwanted organism is never compromised, the possibility of latent pieces of microbial DNA being taken up and integrated into a host cell’s genetic code is virtually impossible. Two, due to the positive-to-negative charged bonds, the reactive “R” groups of the proteins are rendered impotent eliminating the possibility of XMICROBE™ rendering to another surface.
Water is the only solvent used for dilution of the XMICROBE™ concentrate to the desired application strength.
Design for Degradation:
The resultant polymer surface is durable and tightly bonded to the surface to which it is applied. Any breakdown material is non-toxic and is removed by normal periodic cleaning. Due to the chemical structure of the ammonium salt the compound renders itself harmless by simple decomposition, leaving behind no harmful residue or lingering byproducts.
Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention:
The XMICROBE™ concentrate is classed as a pesticide by USEPA and normal precautionary handling is required. There are no carcinogens in the compound. It is non-flammable, stable under normal conditions and is not subject to hazardous polymerization. In the event of accidental spill, the solution can be deactivated by addition of an anionic surfactant or detergent.
The XMICROBE™ material when used by or according to a certified technician of the Healthier Environment Living Program™ (HELP) provides affordable, long lasting antimicrobial protection. This protection can by monitored and managed through ongoing Indoor Air and Surface Quality testing provided by HELP. View more information on www.HealthierPrograms.com or call 888-558-5254.
Erik J. Waters
Independent Microbiologist
December 2009
XMICROBE™
Long Lasting Germ Protection !
Poison (Chemicals) vs. Mechanical Elimination
June 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under How Does XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial Work
Dangerous Poison Antimicrobials
Conventional products penetrate living cells and kill by way of poisoning or chemically altering the organism. They are designed to act quickly and dissipate quickly to avoid adverse effects to humans and animals due to their toxic ingredients. (The XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial Does Not)
Most commercial antimicrobials used for treating building surfaces do a great job of getting a quick kill on bacteria and fungi, although most have a limited spectrum of effectiveness. (XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial Has A Broad Spectrum Of Effectiveness)
Heavy metal based antimicrobials, such as silver ion may leach into the environment and lose their effectiveness over time. (The XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial Is Water Based That Won’t harm The Environment)
Here’s The Big Difference…
XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial takes a totally unique approach. It provides long-term control of growth on treated surfaces because the surface itself is modified to make it antimicrobial active.
The active ingredient in the XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial forms a colorless, odorless, positively charged polymer, which chemically bonds to the treated surface. You could think of it as a layer of electrically charged swords.
XMICROBE™ is a Safer Mechanical Microbial Reduction
When a microorganism comes in contact with the treated surface, the sword punctures the cell membrane and the electrical charge shocks the cell. Since nothing is transferred to the now dead cell, the anti-microbial doesn’t lose strength and the sword is ready for the next cell to contact it.
XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial protection continuously fights the growth of microbes. Plus, the XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial protection makes the surfaces in your home easier to clean and keeps them cleaner and fresher between cleanings.
XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial has undergone extensive independent laboratory testing and has a long 35 year history of safe use. It is registered with the EPA for all applications in which it is used.
XMICROBE™
Long Lasting Germ Protection !
A Look at XMICROBE™
June 28, 2010 by admin
Filed under How Does XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial Work
As you can see to the left, XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial works like a bed of nails to draw and impale microbes.
XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial is an EPA Registered revolutionary product. XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial prevents the growth of an amazingly wide array of bacteria, mold, mildew, algae and yeast.
XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial acts like a bed of microscopic spikes that pierce the cell walls of microbes.
XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial is a totally new approach to providing long lasting anti-microbial protection.
XMICROBE™
Long Lasting Germ Protection !
In E. Coli Fight, Some Strains Are Largely Ignored
June 28, 2010 by Web Coordinator
Filed under Indoor Life News
New York Times -
By WILLIAM NEUMAN
For nearly two decades, Public Enemy No. 1 for the food industry and its government regulators has been a virulent 
strain of E. coli bacteria that has killed hundreds of people, sickened thousands and prompted the recall of millions of pounds of hamburger, spinach and other foods. But as everyone focused on controlling that particular bacterium, known as E. coli O157:H7, the six rarer strains of toxic E. coli were largely ignored. Collectively, those other strains are now emerging as a serious threat to food safety. In April, romaine lettuce tainted with one of them sickened at least 26 people in five states, including three teenagers who suffered kidney failure.
Although the federal government and the beef and produce industries have known about the risk posed by these other dangerous bacteria for years, regulators have taken few concrete steps to directly address it or even measure the scope of the problem. For three years, the United States Department of Agriculture has been considering whether to make it illegal to sell ground beef tainted with the six lesser-known E. coli strains, which would give them the same outlaw status as their more famous cousin. The meat industry has resisted the idea, arguing that it takes other steps to keep E. coli out of the beef supply and that no outbreak involving the rarer strains has been definitively tied to beef.
The severity of the April outbreak is spurring a reassessment.
New Way Bacterium Spreads In Hospital
June 25, 2010 by Web Coordinator
Filed under Indoor Life News
New York Times -
By Nicholas Bakalar
Health care workers and patients have yet another source of hospital-acquired infection to worry about, British researchers are reporting.
Clostridium difficile, a germ that causes deadly intestinal infections in hospital patients, has long been thought to be 
spread only by contact with contaminated surfaces. But a new study finds that it can also travel through the air.
The researchers emphasized that there is no evidence that C. difficile can be contracted by inhaling the germs. Rather, they float on the air, landing in places where more people can touch them.
The bug is commonly spread by contact with infected feces, and the British scientists said the new study made it even more urgent to isolate hospital patients with diarrhea as soon as possible — even before tests confirm a C. difficile infection.
“We don’t want people to wait for the confirmation,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Mark H. Wilcox, a professor of medical microbiology at the University of Leeds. “By then, the cat’s out of the bag.”
Outbreaks of C. difficile, a bacterium resistant to many antibiotics, have been increasing in the United States since 2001, along with the evolution of more virulent strains.
People in good health are rarely infected. But broad-spectrum antibiotics can wipe out the bacteria that normally live in the intestines, allowing C. difficile to flourish. Hospitalized people on antibiotics and the elderly, even when not taking medicine, are at high risk.
Health care workers who touch contaminated feces can spread the disease by direct contact with other people or just by touching objects. The spores are resistant to disinfectants and can survive in open areas for months.
The bacterium produces toxins that can cause fever, nausea, abdominal pain, severe diarrhea — and sometimes colitis, a serious inflammation of the large intestine.
Treatment involves replacing the broad-spectrum antibiotics with other antibiotics, usually vancomycin or metronidazole.
The British researchers began with a six-month investigation of 50 patients, symptomatic and not, with confirmed
infection. The air near 12 percent of them was found to be contaminated with C. difficile. The more active their diarrheal symptoms, the more likely they were to have spores in the air around them.
Then the scientists repeatedly tested 10 patients with symptomatic illness over a 10-hour period, and the air near 7 was positive for c. difficile, usually during visiting hours or when there was activity in patient rooms like food delivery, ward rounds or bedding changes. Surfaces around 9 of the 10 patients were also contaminated.
The scientists believe that the movement of people and the opening and closing of doors stir up spores on contaminated surfaces, helping them disperse and increasing the possibility of them spreading.
The finding is unlikely to change current preventive practice, said Dr. L. Clifford McDonald, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said that the study supported putting patients in a single room, “which is the norm here in the U.S.”
“There is a little bit of dispersion,” he added, “but the heavier contamination is still from direct contact.”
Dr. Wilcox agreed. “It’s important,” he said, “not to interpret the results as a justification for methods aimed at removing bacteria from the air, techniques that may be appropriate for highly immunocompromised patients, but not for those at risk for C. diff infection.”
The amounts of C. difficile found in the air were generally modest. There were no clouds of germs circulating in patients’ rooms. This may suggest a genuinely low level of airborne contamination, the researchers write, or it may be a result of methodological problems in collecting air samples: the initial location of the sampling devices, their design, or their movement to accommodate patient care or the arrival of visitors.
Dr. Wilcox said patients should protect themselves from C. difficile by the conscientious application of two substances that do not require a prescription: soap and water.
“For everyone in a hospital, staff or patients,” he said, “the chief thing is optimal hand hygiene.”
Ready To Get Ahead of the Competition With Your Rental Car Company?
June 24, 2010 by Web Coordinator
Filed under Uncategorized
One of the problems perplexing rental car companies today is the amount of bacteria and germs found throughout their fleet. From E.Coli to Staph, rental cars are just not as clean as they should be. According to research, only 3 out of 10 rental cars are cleaned and quite possibly, not to our satisfaction! Studies have found that 80% of infection is passed by human contact, either directly or indirectly and with so many surfaces and so many previous users, there are many chances at contamination.
The Solution?
The solution is to take a different approach to managing the environment inside your rental car and/or company.
The first step in putting your company ahead of the competition and protecting your vehicles from bacteria, mold and mildew is to become an IASQ™ Certified Professional! With our one-of-a-kind Indoor Air and Surface Quality™ training, you can become knowledgeable in the IASQ™ Industry and offer Healthier Environments to promote safer, cleaner air and surfaces to your existing and future customers, as well as stay ahead of the competition by having access to the IASQ™ Certification Course 24/7! From here, you will have the knowledge and training you need to better manage your indoor environments by using unique antimicrobial technologies and cleaning techniques.
So What’s Next?
You see, protecting your rental car company from bacteria, mold and mildew is easier than ever with XMICROBE™ unique antimicrobial technology. Our XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial offers an antimicrobial protection that works every minute of every day with just one simple application and it’s affordable and long-lasting. XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial creates a durable bond to the surfaces of your vehicles preventing further growth, spreading of bacteria and cross-contamination. Protect your customers and employees and ease your mind as XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial works to control Microbial growth.
If you’re wondering how the XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial works, take a look!
XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial is an EPA registered revolutionary product. And it prevents the growth of an amazingly wide array of bacteria, mold, mildew, algae and yeast by acting like a bed of microscopic spikes that pierce and physically rupture the cell walls of microbes without the use of poisons. Since XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial’s methodology is mechanical instead of poisons, it does not create “Superbugs,” which are microbes that build up a resistance to treatment, and since each microscopic spike is only about 1000 the diameter of a human hair, they are too small to harm large cells in mammals. This is a totally new approach to providing long-lasting antimicrobial protection. What makes the XMICROBE™ Antimicrobial unique is its ability to create a strong bond with a multitude of surfaces (porous and nonporous), forming highly durable and protective coating.
Here’s the bottom line…
If you want a cleaner, healthier facility for your clients, employees, and yourself without relying on ineffective harsh toxic chemicals to keep the place clean, then you need the Healthier Environment Living Program™. Give us a call today at 888-558-5254 and take the first step towards a Healthier Environment!
