Monthly Archives: 2023
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December 18, 2023Posted: December 17, 2023We have all heard the phrase, “The way to a person’s heart is through their stomach.” While taking that concept with a grain of salt, most people would not want their appetite spoiled with the thought of consuming rotten or tainted food. In the United States, food safety has only been considered for a little more than 100 years due to President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt signing in two bills that established...Read More -
December 13, 2023Read MoreAs 2023 draws to a close, many people begin to think about new goals and intentions for the New Year ahead. The most common New Year’s resolution is to improve health, which often involves better food alternatives and eating healthier. One of the most popular plant-based sweetener alternatives used in the food and beverage industry is Stevia. Stevia is a no-calorie sugar substitute made from highly...
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November 17, 2023Posted: November 16, 2023Read MoreA total of 1,957 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in the United States so far this year.
That is already surpassing the 1,129 cases reported in all of 2022. (1) The investigation of this outbreak is ongoing with no specific food item being identified as the source of most of these illnesses, although the outbreak count does include 20 patients in Georgia and Alabama whose...
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November 01, 2023Posted: October 31, 2023Read MoreHealthcare professionals face a constant challenge with ever-evolving bacterial and fungal infections. Multidrug-resistant pathogens threaten the efficacy of existing treatments and highlight the need for new antimicrobial therapies. These microorganisms are typically resistant to the majority of antimicrobial agents, including carbapenems, making them difficult to treat. The Centers for Disease Control...
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October 17, 2023Posted: October 16, 2023Read MoreComing November 1, 2023, several updates to the USP <797> guidelines will go into effect, bringing significant changes to the practice as well as your facility. Cost of additional supplies, increased points of failure, as well as more time required to manage competencies will all be new challenges to consider. -
October 09, 2023Posted: October 08, 2023Read MoreEarlier this year, a group of five medical organizations released updated recommendations for the prevention of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) transmission and infection.
MRSA causes approximately 10% of hospital-associated infections in the United States and these infections are associated with an increased risk of death. Certain infections caused by MRSA rose by as much as 41%...
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September 20, 2023Posted: September 19, 2023Read MoreHydrogen peroxide vapors utilized in patient hospital rooms may be a significant way to control this deadly disease.
The 2019 edition of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report estimated that Clostridioides difficile is responsible for almost half a million infections per year in the United States, with approximately six percent of those cases leading to...
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September 13, 2023Posted: September 12, 2023In some cases in Florida, patients with leprosy report contact with armadillos, but others to not. These are the only animals known to harbor the disease and have been known to spit when people get too close.Read More -
September 08, 2023Posted: September 07, 2023Read MoreMay 11th of 2023 marked the end of both the public health emergency and the national state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, health professionals are concerned with the rise of the EG.5 variant, an up-and-coming SARS-CoV-2 strain that is potentially more transmissible than any of the current circulating strains in the United States. (1) EG.5 is a descendant of the Omicron lineage XBB.1.9.5...
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August 11, 2023Posted: August 10, 2023Read MoreOmega 3 oils found to be beneficial...
In last month's issue of MicroBytes, we reported on newer research that discovered fungal elements in the brains of Alzheimer patients. Today we will look at the dietary connection.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a degenerative neurological disease that usually begins long before any noticeable symptoms occur. Alzheimer’s causes afflicted individuals to have decreased...
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July 28, 2023Posted: July 27, 2023Read MoreE. coli implicated in colon cancer...
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with approximately 50,000 deaths reported in 2020. (1) Most cases and deaths may be attributable to risk factors such as age, family history, adenomas, inflammatory bowel disease, or racial and ethnic backgrounds. (2)
Other lifestyle-related factors associated to...
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July 10, 2023Posted: July 09, 2023Read MoreA shocking new discovery! Numerous fungal species found upon autopsy.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects more than 6 million Americans, with the majority of those being 65 and older.
Proteomic analysis of brain tissue from patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s indicates evidence of fungal proteins.(2) Of those, the most common species were identified as Candida spp., Malassezia spp., Cladosporium...
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June 20, 2023Posted: June 19, 2023Read MoreMaggots to the rescue? How Revolting!
The First World War was a huge tragedy for humanity, but it represented a source of significant progress for physicians to improve their knowledge in the treatment of lesions and wounds.
The most frequent causes of death at the time, surprisingly, were not related to gunshots or chemical warfare but, rather, due to fractures, tetanus, and septic complications of...
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May 19, 2023Posted: May 18, 2023Read MoreCDC issues an alert...Super Shigella on the Rise
Bacteria of the genus Shigella are clinically-significant pathogens which may cause mild to severe illness. Shigella comprises four species which include Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri, Shigella boydii, and Shigella dysenteriae. These bacteria cause an infection coined shigellosis, which infect an estimated 450,000 people in the...
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May 05, 2023Posted: May 04, 2023Categories: Laboratory TutorialsRead MoreAre you struggling to properly streak a Petri plate? Then you've come to right place.
In this blog, we will thoroughly describe a method called, the Four Quadrant Streak. While there are other techniques, this particular method ensures proper isolation of a colony from a larger sample. The purpose of the four quadrant method is to reduce the number of colonies from an area of high concentration from...
