10 Tips to Prevent Infections

It may seem a daunting task to keep yourself and your loved ones free of infections. Beyond the obvious—steering clear of runny noses and hacking coughs—you may be wondering about some other practical ways of staying infection-free. Your skin acts as a natural barrier against harmful microbes that cause infections, but smart “bugs” have found alternative routes to get into your body and cause infection. By making a few simple behavioral changes (which ultimately reduce their access into your body), you can easily prevent the spread of many infectious diseases.

1. Wash your hands frequently. Did you know that microbes can live on inert surfaces anywhere from a few minutes to several months? Imagine these disease-causing microbes living on your computer keyboard, your light-switch, or even on the pedestrian-crossing button next to the crosswalk!Surprisingly, most people don’t know the best way to effectively wash their hands. The CDC recommends washing thoroughly and vigorously with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, followed by hand-drying with a paper towel. In the absence of running water, an alcohol-based hand gel or wipe will suffice, although nothing beats good ol’ soap and water. This takes about as long as it does to sing “Happy Birthday”, so some hospitals recommend washing your hands for the duration of this simple tune!
2. Don’t share personal items. Toothbrushes, towels, razors, handkerchiefs, and nail clippers can all be sources of infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, and fungi). In kindergarten, you were taught to share your toys, but keep your hands to yourself. Now try to remember to keep personal items to yourself as well!
3. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. In a similar vein, good personal hygiene includes not only personal cleanliness, but also the age-old practice of covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Why is this important if you aren’t sick? For most infections, the disease-causing microbe has already started growing and dividing long before any symptoms begin to show. Coughing or sneezing can spread these germs through microscopic droplets in the air. The current recommendation is to cover your mouth with your arm, sleeve, or crook of the elbow, rather than using your hands. Read more »

Rabies

Background
Rabies is a viral disease that affects the CNS. The genus Lyssavirus contains more than 80 viruses. Classic rabies, the focus of this article, is the prototypical human Lyssavirus pathogen. Ten viruses are in the rabies serogroup, most of which only rarely cause human disease. The genus Lyssavirus, rabies serogroup, includes the classic rabies virus, Mokola virus, Duvenhage virus, Obodhiang virus, Kotonkan virus, Rochambeau virus, European bat Lyssavirus types 1 and 2, and Australian bat Lyssavirus. In 1997, an unusual bat Lyssavirus caused a brief outbreak of a rabieslike illness in Australia.

The fatal madness of rabies has been described throughout recorded history, and its association with rabid canines is well known. For centuries, dog bites were treated prophylactically with cautery, unfortunately, with predictable results. In the 19th century, Pasteur developed a vaccine that successfully prevented rabies after inoculation and launched a new era of hope in the management of this uniformly fatal disease. Rabies is recognized as a zoonosis worldwide. Animal-control and vaccination strategies currently supersede postexposure prophylaxis in preventing the spread of rabies. Through such programs, rabies has been eliminated in several nations and some areas in the US territories.

Human rabies reflects the prevalence of animal infection and the extent of contact this population has with humans. Less than 5% of cases in developed nations occur in domesticated dogs; however, unvaccinated dogs serve as the main reservoir worldwide. Undomesticated canines, such as coyotes, wolves, jackals, and foxes, are most prone to rabies and serve as reservoirs. These reservoirs allow rabies to remain an indefinite public health concern, and ongoing public health measures are critical to its control. Raccoons, skunks, and insect-eating bats remain the prime vectors in the United States, followed by cats and cattle. Increasingly in the United States, the source of exposures cannot be identified, but the risk of death from rabies is exceedingly low, with fewer than 5 cases documented per year. Opossums are rarely infected and are not considered a likely risk for exposure. Read more »