industry news Prime Minister: Action Against Superbugs Necessary LONDON — British Prime Minster David Cameron has vowed Britain will lead a global fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs to prevent the world from being “cast back into the dark ages of medicine,” according to The Daily Mail . Cameron said that the rise of untreatable bacteria is one of the biggest health threats facing the world, threatening an “unthink-able scenario” where minor infections could kill once again. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that routine operations and minor scratches could become fatal if noth-ing is done. With this statement, Cameron became the first world leader to speak out about the threat of antibacterial resistance. determine the cause and manner of his death. It was unknown whether the death is connected to the work being done, and the levels of chemicals in the building were very low, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fire Services. Triclosan Scrutiny May Lead To Federal Rules PITTSBURGH, PA — Manufacturers call tri-closan a powerful germ-killing ingredient for soaps, toothpastes and deodorants, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . Yet, as the antibacterial agent shows up in more consumer health and household goods, federal regulators have put it under tougher scrutiny. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cast a spotlight in December on triclosan, which emerged as a surgical scrub in the 1970s. Research found that triclosan could help bacteria evolve and become resistant to antibiotics, which might undermine the usefulness of standard medicines. Ongoing FDA reviews of triclosan may lead to new rules for the chemical’s use in healthcare settings by January 15, 2018. At each hospital, 120 randomly-selected interior and exterior elevator buttons were swabbed over a 10-day period. The collected swabs were compared against swabs of toilet surfaces in men’s washrooms, including exterior and interior entry-door handles, the privacy latch and the toilet flush handle. The study found that 61 percent of the elevator button samples showed micro-biological growth, compared to only 43 percent of the toilet surface samples. During the study, they were surprised by the frequency of bacterial coloniza-tion on the elevator buttons and were struck by how easily it could be avoided, specifically by the use of good hand washing or hand hygiene, said co-author Dr. Andrew Simor, chief, department of microbiology and infectious diseases at Sunnybrook. Custodian’s Death Investigated PLYMOUTH, MA — Authorities are inves-tigating whether the death of a Plymouth school custodian was caused by the same chemical exposure that may be responsible for sickening 11 people, according to the Boston Herald . Chester Flattery, 53, had been cleaning floors for about an hour when his body was found. Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri said that the officers and emergency workers became ill after arriving due to the report of an unresponsive man. A total of three firefighters, three police officers, two state troopers, two paramedics and one school employee were sent to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth. All were held for evaluation due to symp-toms of possible chemical exposure. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy on Flattery to NYC Comptroller Says Schools Failed In Bidding NEW YORK — Comptroller Scott Stringer has found that the city school system could not prove it sought competitive bids for a more than $80 million custodial-sup-ply contract, and then failed to monitor whether it was overpaying for things like mops and cleaners, according to the New York Post . Stringer said in the audit that the Department of Education (DOE) failed to take the most basic measures to oversee its custodial supplies vendor. DOE officials accused the comptroller of relying on unverified accusations from cus-todians and failed to prove taxpayers were harmed. Auditors examined a five-year contract with Strategic Distribution Inc. and deter-mined that school officials failed to monitor the market prices of supplies bought from the company. Elevator Buttons: A Secret Source Of Bacteria TORONTO — A study found that elevator buttons are more likely to be colonized by bacteria than toilet surfaces, according to the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Elevators are a component of modern hospital care, and are used by multiple peo-ple with ungloved hands who will later go on to make contact with patients, said study co-author Dr. Donald Redelmeier, staff phy-sician, division of general internal medi-cine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and researcher with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). For daily industry news, sign up for CM e-News Daily at www.CMMOnline.com/Sign-Up. Please send any news or press releases to Editor Phillip Lawless at [email protected]. 8 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® August 2014
CMM – Archives August 2014: 8
