Posted on 10/28/2007 3:14:22 PM PDT by blam
Cold war weaponry to tackle superbugs
By Gary Cleland
Last Updated: 5:47pm GMT 28/10/2007
Technology developed to protect Britain from biological weapons is being redeployed into hospitals to help destroy superbugs.
Among the first hospital trusts to install the air disinfection units will be Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, where at least 90 people died from the bug Clostridium difficile.
The machines, first developed at the British defence establishment Porton Down in the 1960s, have been approved by an NHS ethics committee after trials at hospitals in Sunderland, Manchester and Carlisle.
Tests showed the machines are capable of killing 98.5 per cent of germs in the air, including drug-resistant strains of C.diff, MRSA and E.coli.
Amid growing concerns over the state of cleanliness in British hospital wards, Gordon Brown announced a programme to “deep clean” all wards last month.
Last week however, as wards across the country were forced to close following an outbreak of the norovirus vomiting bug, Conservatives dismissed the plans as a “gimmick” because there is no system in place to monitor it.
Experts believe the new air cleaning units are needed, however, even if deep cleaning is introduced.
Clive Beggs, Professor of medical technology at Bradford University, has been leading NHS research on controlling hospital acquired infections.
He said: "We’re washing hands more than ever before but infections are going up. Something else must be going on.
"The aerial route is the most significant source of infection in the clinical environments."
Professor Derek Ellwood, who was part of the original team that developed the machines and is now an advisor to the company producing them for the NHS, said: "We now know there is a direct relation between what’s going on in the atmosphere and actually killing organisms.
"This atmospheric disinfection machine is going to kill bacteria and viruses."
Meanwhile scientists have discovered a type of clay found in France could be another weapon against superbugs.
Agricur, made from ancient volcanic ash found near the Massif Central, has been found in tests to kill up to 99 per cent of superbug colonies within 24 hours.
It has a similar effect on other deadly bacteria tested, including salmonella, E. coli, and a flesh-eating disease called buruli.
bump
Here comes the Feel-Better Science Fiction spin, right on schedule. Every week there are new stunning discoveries in Medicine pubished in the UK Papers.
Never, never are the miracle advances ever heard of again. In another week, there are even more stunning advances-While 70,000 subjects last year fled to have procedures done in other countries!
"But Wait! No! No! Stick around! The Miracle Cure is right around the corner".
To keep track of these, and observe in dumbstruck horror every day, check out
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/news/headlines.html?in_page_id=1770
Every single day there is at least one, and some days, several NHS horrors reported.
Having been a reader of the site for some time, when others see these stories they will understand why I feel these breathless reports have ZERO Credibility. (Well, they may be preventing riots...)
We all need to watch Socialized Medicine in action in order to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Battle.
Tyying while annoyed at a "news" story sometimes makes the HTML skills fall through the cracks...
French Clay ???
French muck: Is this the new penicillin?
We have two cases of MRSA here; soon the public will become more alarmed. I read about another child who died from it in NY, not one I saw discussed here.
ping
Anything can happen to anybody. But compromised immune systems seem to be the key is most of the cases, not all.
I'm not going to panic. I'm going to read and think about it. I'm wondering if the thing escaped from a biolab (tinfoil time). Maybe it is a bioweapon. Or just as our systems can build up an immunity to many things by mild exposures & what all, it seems logical that a bacteria wouldn't have to "evolve" much to develop a tolerance to antibiotics, same as humans if used too often and too long.
I don't blame people who have been close to this wanting things sterile. I take reasonable precautions about certain things like bleach after I have handled raw chicken, keep a cool whip container covered with bleach in it I dip my hands into when I think I have contacted something, don't do it much.
I brew a lot of tea, and the tea leaves a nasty residue. Bleach takes care of it. I don't know how I got onto that, but that's why I started keeping the bleach solution. Nutty, I know. I dig in the dirt all the time, sometimes I worry a little about tetanus because it's been awhile more than 10 years, then forget about it and get on with things.
Never had shingles in my life, had chickenpox. I came into contact with a person who has had a serious chronic problem with them. Next thing I know, I have them, luckily mild and they were hellish. I didn't think they were contagious, but it is odd.
I am afraid to mention any of this to my daughter or she will FREAK OUT. So if she gets wind of it, I will have some reassurance for her, first prompt attention.
There was a thread posted here yesterday or the day before about clays and their benefits. I looked for it but couldn't find it.
There was a thread posted here yesterday or the day before about clays and their benefits.
I recall reading somewhere that during the civil war wounds were packed with dirt. The microbes in the soil prevented infections.
I was intrigued about the French mushroom growers in caves who seldom came down with cancer. Also, I wonder if there has been a study of disease and potters who work with clay. I file these little factoids away in my mind.
I googled FR using advanced search, then did a search here on keyword clay. Is this it?
An earlier thread about the French clay
I will try to read more about this as time goes on.
Yes.
Also, apparently folks that worked in the cinnamon factory didn't get the Spanish Flu in 1918.
They are digging it up again to do research on it, kind of scary if it gets into the population.
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