Health & Wellness
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Posted: March 02, 2023...
What we eat plays an important role in our health and directly affects key health markers linked to our wellbeing including lipid profile, blood sugar, and blood pressure.
More importantly, foods can alter gut microbial biodiversity, which may lead to the production of harmful byproducts.
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Posted: January 30, 2023
Urinary tract infections (UTI) are considered to be one of the most common bacterial infections worldwide.(1)
The most common uropathogen causing uncomplicated UTIs is Escherichia coli.(2) Extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains cause UTIs via the intestine-stool-urethra route.(3)
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Posted: January 03, 2023...
Probiotics promote healthy levels of serotonin...the feel good neurotransmitter
Opinions about food have long been a source of contention between family, friends, and strangers. Pickles, sauerkraut, and cottage cheese are just a few examples of foods that are loved dearly by some and despised by others (see the graphic below).
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Posted: November 21, 2022...
Two years ago, there was virtually no flu season due to COVID-19 isolation.
In addition, experts predict another COVID-19 surge this fall and winter.(2) According to the World Health Organization’s early October global situation report, more than 1.5 million COVID-19 diagnosis were reported across Europe during the week ending Oct. 2, a
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Posted: September 30, 2022Categories: Clinical, Industry Insights, Public Health Alerts, Health & Wellness, Product Spotlights
Emerging hand in hand with the Pandemic...
A new 2022 special report from the CDC is sounding the alarm that antimicrobial resistance to some of the most concerning bacteria and fungi significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (1) One such highly drug resistant yeast noted in the report is Candida...
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Posted: September 16, 2022
Coffee drinkers beware...
Does coffee lead to increased risk of dementia and stroke?
Moderation is best!
Coffee, with over 22 billion pounds consumed annually, is without a doubt one...
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Posted: August 05, 2022
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is the most common bacterial cause of pharyngitis, often referred to as strep throat. GAS can also cause severe invasive infections. People who are elderly, have skin breakdown (when the skin is deprived of blood flow, the skin can become damaged or develop ulcers), or have chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, are at increased risk. Each year in the United States...
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Posted: July 22, 2022
Another respiratory virus of concern. Common, yet underdiagnosed...
Every year we anticipate the rounds of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, and now Covid-19; but there is a lesser-known culprit of seasonal respiratory infections.
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Posted: June 09, 2022
Miracle in the Mucin... Discovered in 2004, Akkermansia muciniphila is a relative newcomer to microbiology. Akkermansia was named for the microbial ecologist Antoon Akkermans, and muciniphila meaning preferring mucin. This organism in the phylum Verrucomicrobia was the result of a study that used purified mucin as...
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Posted: June 08, 2022
Lyme disease is one of the most common types of tick-borne diseases (TBDs), yet many questions remain surrounding long-term treatment of this disease. Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete causing the disease, is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Ixodes tick. (1) The first symptoms will often include a bullseye rash forming around the tick bite, as seen in the photo...
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Posted: June 07, 2022
In December 2021, Canada reported the first case of the 2021-2022 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in North America. Subsequently, HPAI H5N1 viruses have been confirmed in wild birds, backyard flocks, and commercial poultry facilities in both Canada and the United States. (1) According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as of April 26, 2022, there have been almost 37...
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Posted: March 21, 2022Categories: Modern Innovations, Clinical, Industry Insights, Public Health Alerts, Health & Wellness
As the COVID-19 pandemic moves into its third year, new treatment options to combat the coronavirus disease are being authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In December, 2021, the FDA issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for two oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid.(1,2)
This comes at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and COVID-19... -
Posted: March 03, 2022
Is there a cranial microbiome? Can it be harmful?
Over the decades, scientists have dedicated their entire careers to studying microorganisms on and in our bodies. Although the brain has largely been considered a sterile environment, research has shown evidence of microorganisms living harmlessly in the brain.
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Posted: February 24, 2022Categories: Food Safety, Health & Wellness, Industry Insights, Outbreak Alerts, Microbiology, News & Insights
Salmonella Infantis
Globally, Salmonella causes illness in 93.8 million people and causes approximately 155,000 deaths each year.(1) Within the United States alone, Salmonella is responsible for 1.35 million infections, 26,000 of which...
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Posted: February 10, 2022
How dangerous are the BA.2 and BA.3 sub-variants compared to the Omicron BA.1 that we already know?
South Africa has one of the most robust public health systems in the world, carefully monitoring their SARS-CoV-2 case load, which has been dominated these last few months by the Delta variant. In recent months, however...