Basic Hygiene Research Articles

The motivation behind better sleep: self-determination as a framework for examining sleep outcomes in college students

Objective To examine sleep health within a self-determination framework across a diverse college sample. Participants A nonclinical sample of undergraduate students (n = 399) from a large, urban, public university in the Mid-Atlantic United States in Spring 2020. Methods Participants were recruited via an online research participation portal and received extra credit for participation. All measures were administered via an online survey. Results Basic psychological need satisfaction was associated with sleep health. This association was partially mediated by sleep hygiene but not by regulatory style. There were no racial/ethnic differences in sleep health, sleep hygiene, basic need satisfaction, or regulatory style. Men reported more maladaptive motivational styles for sleep health, and non-binary/transgender students reported worse sleep hygiene. Conclusion Basic psychological need satisfaction and sleep hygiene are critical targets for intervention across diverse college student populations. Motivation may be less critical for nonclinical interventions.

Mapping access to basic hygiene services in low- and middle-income countries: A cross-sectional case study of geospatial disparities

Handwashing with water and soap is among the most a cost-effective interventions to improve public health. Yet billions of people globally lacking handwashing facilities with water and soap on premises, with gaps particularly found in low- and middle-income countries. Targeted efforts to expand access to basic hygiene services require data at geospatially explicit scales. Drawing on country-specific cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys with georeferenced hygiene data, we developed an ensemble machine learning model to predict the prevalence of basic hygiene facilities in Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda. The ensemble model was based on a multiple-level stacking structure, where four predictive modelling algorithms were used to produce sub-models, and a random forest model was used to generalise the final predictions. An inverse distance weighted interpolation was incorporated in the random forest model to account for spatial autocorrelation. Local coverage and a local dissimilarity index were calculated to examine the geographic disparities in access. Our methodology produced robust outputs, as evidenced by performance evaluations (all R2 were above 0.8). Among the five study countries, Pakistan had the highest overall coverage, whilst Malawi had the poorest coverage. Apparent disparities in basic hygiene services measured by local coverage were found across geographic locations and between urban and rural settings. Nigeria had the highest level of inequalities in basic hygiene services measured by a dissimilarity index, whilst Malawi showed the least segregation between populations with and without basic hygiene services. Both educational attainment and wealth were important predictors of the geospatial distribution of basic hygiene services. By producing geospatially explicit estimates of the prevalence of handwashing facilities with water and soap, this study provides a means of identifying geographical disparities in basic hygiene services. The method and outputs can be useful tools to identify areas of low coverage and to support efficient and precise targeting of efforts to scale up access to handwashing facilities and shift social and cultural norms on handwashing.

​Assessment of the Sanitary and Hygienic Quality of Raw Milk Marketed in the Urban Area of Mostaganem, Algeria

Background: Fresh raw milk is a highly nutritious but perishable product. Its informal sale without control, is detrimental to the health of the consumer. Therefore, assessing the hygienic and sanitary quality of raw milk is an absolute necessity. Methods: 20 raw milk samples from four regions of Mostaganem City, Algeria, were tested on a microbiological compliance aspect. A serologic analysis was carried out for the indirect detection of brucellosis and a questionnaire was developed to check the hygiene rules applied at the sales store level. Result: The results indicate an average high contamination of 8.109 cfu/ml for aerobic germs at 30°C versus 12.104 cfu/ml for thermotolerant coliforms. The presence of Staphylococcus with positive coagulase and anti-brucella antibodies indicates that these milks are potentially hazardous to human health. Salmonella is absent in all samples. The field investigation shows the proven absence of the most basic hygiene rules for the storageand presentation for sale of raw milk. A quality approach must be put in place at the service of the consumer.

Vulvo-vaginal myiasis among rural women in West Bengal, India

Myiasis, the infestation of living or dead tissue of vertebrates by larvae (maggots) of dipterous flies, is well-known in the medical field. Different parts of the human body, such as skin, oral, nasal, urogenital are affected and named accordingly. The present study was a clinic-entomological study where the women having vulvo-vaginal myiasis were included. Maggots were collected, cultured, and adult flies were identified. A total of 34 cases of vulvo-vaginal myiasis were treated. The larvae of 29 cases were cultured into adults. Most of the women are rural (94%), illiterate and from a low socioeconomic society. The authors specified the infested sites of vulva and vagina such as vaginal, labia, clitoris, episiotomy wound, vulval growth, and prolapsed uterus. The episiotomy wound (32%) is the most common infestation site, followed by the vagina (26%). Chrysomya bezziana (76%) and Chrysomya megacephala (24%) are the identified flies. Illiterate, rural puerperal mothers of low socioeconomic status without proper health education and basic hygiene knowledge are vulnerable to myiasis.

Specific Hygiene Procedures and Practices Assessment: A Cross-Sectional Study in Fresh Fishery Product Retailers of Lisbon's Traditional Food Markets.

This study aimed to assess the compliance of specific hand hygiene and food contact surfaces hygiene in fresh fishery product retailers (FFPR) and its relation to socio-demographic characteristics that might influence the observed procedures and practices. A cross-sectional study was conducted in traditional food markets’ FFPRs (N = 74) using interviews and audits for data collection purposes. Results revealed that women were overrepresented among FFPR managers; most were over 50 years of age and had a long working experience in fish retail activities, despite a low educational level. The majority had attended training courses in food hygiene, safety, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points-based procedures. Both documental assessment and hand hygiene procedures and practices verification revealed a low level of compliance. Many documents supporting hygiene practices were lacking. Several non-conforming requisites were identified related to the handwashing procedure and equipment and to glove wearing practices. A higher level of compliance was obtained in food contact surfaces hygiene procedures and practices verification, with complete hygiene procedures applied and proper cleaning of utensils and chemical products management in several cases. These findings reflect an ambiguous understanding and misconceptions related to hygiene procedures and practices, suggesting the need to improve and update FFPR food handler training regarding basic food hygiene and safety.

Measuring household hygiene access and handwashing behaviors: Findings from 14 low- and middle-income countries.

Handwashing with soap (HWWS) is critical for preventing diarrheal and respiratory infections and is an important policy priority to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We analyzed hygiene data from 36,860 household surveys from rural areas in India, Honduras, and twelve countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We report descriptive statistics and compare and critique three indicators: (1) access to basic hygiene services, defined as a reported designated handwashing area with observed water and soap at the time of the survey; (2) use of both soap and water during demonstrated handwashing; and (3) reported handwashing both after defecation and before preparing food. Overall, 10% of surveyed households (4% in SSA) had access to basic hygiene services and 48% of respondents (45% in SSA) used both soap and water during demonstrated handwashing. Inconsistencies between these indicators suggest no single indicator can provide a holistic picture of household hygiene; reporting on handwashing infrastructure alone may underestimate household access to soap and water and HWWS behaviors. Across the 14 countries, there was an average 22 percentage point (p.p.) gap (median 20 p.p.) in use of both water and soap during demonstrated handwashing between respondents in the wealthiest and poorest quintiles surveyed. This finding highlights the continued need to emphasize inclusivity aspects of the SDGs. Data around respondents' reported exposure to hygiene promotion showed that respondents rarely heard messaging about cleanliness from faith leaders, revealing an overlooked opportunity to empower faith leaders to promote handwashing in low- and middle-income countries.

The Coralation Between Sanitation Facilities and Personal Hygiene with the Cases of Diarrhea in Breastfeeding Toddlers in Sinabung Post-Eruption Settlements, Berastagi District, Karo Regency

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between basic sanitation facilities and personal hygiene with the incidence of diarrhea in breastfeeding infants in Sinabung post-eruption settlement, Berastagi District, Karo Regency in 2021. This study was a quantitative study with a Cross Sectional Study design. Data analysis using chi-square test with a sample of 100 mothers who have toddlers aged 6-24 months. The results showed that the related variables were basic sanitation facilities (p=0.014) and hand hygiene (p=0.020) with the incidence of diarrhea in breastfeeding infants. Suggestions for this study to health workers are expected to carry out health promotion and education about basic sanitation and personal hygiene to mothers whose toddlers do not experience diarrhea to prevent an increase in cases of diarrhea and to provide treatment and education to mothers whose toddlers experience diarrhea so as not to occurrence of complications or severity of diarrhea to prevent death.

The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic on the hygiene habits of the Poles

Background The objective of the study was to learn about and evaluate the hygienic habits of the Poles. There were also specific objectives defined, related to the change of the habits during the pandemic: 1. 1. perform basic hygiene activities and those aimed at reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19, 2. 2. use of hygiene utensils. Material and methods The study was conducted in two editions. The first edition took place at the beginning of the pandemic in Poland (April 2020) and the second one after another 8 months (November 2020). A total of 549 people took part in the study, including 412 women and 137 men. In the study (survey) a specifically designed questionnaire consisting of 14 closed questions was used. The questions concerned three subject areas: 1. 1. Possession and use of hygienic utensils, 2. 2. Habits and activities related to COVID-19 pandemic, 3. 3. Basic activities of personal hygiene. Within each part, the existence of a correlation between the first edition and the second round of the study was examined. Results Most of the respondents had personal hygiene equipment, in the second edition they also had a toothbrush (p=0.0367). The habits of the respondents regarding the additional activities related to oral hygiene changed significantly (p=0.0315), the percentage of people using only dental floss increased along with decreasing percentage of people using mouthwash solely. There was also a significant decrease in the percentage of respondents using chewing gum (p=0.0044). In addition, it was found that the frequency of hand washing during the pandemic increased and the time of using antibacterial fluids lengthened significantly (p=0.000). Along with the course of the pandemic, the subjects stopped adhering to the recommendations related to the manner of sneezing and coughing. The number of people sneezing in their elbow decreased significantly (p=0.0016), while the number of people sneezing in their hands increased simultaneously (p=0.000). Along with the course of the pandemic, the number of people who do not take their bath every day has also decreased (p=0.0023), which may be related to the prolonged period of social isolation. Conclusions In the light of the obtained results, it can be noticed that the respondents do not fully comply with the requirements of the sanitary regime and they apply the guidelines selectively and for a short time. The behavioural patterns that may be identified by the subjects as related to their personal epidemic safety seem to be more persistent. These behavioural patterns indicate the need for more frequent and systematic educational campaigns on epidemiological safety and hygiene.

Enhancing the Menstrual Experience of Menstruating Adolescents in Mashonaland Central, Zimbabwe: A Qualitative Study

This study identified the needs of at-risk menstruating adolescents in rural Mashonaland Central, Zimbabwe, regarding menstrual health in order to contribute to enhancing the menstrual experience of at-risk menstruating adolescents. The study used an exploratory qualitative research design. The main data collection method consisted of semi-structured interviews with 11 experts and key informants in menstrual health in Zimbabwe and other low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, five at-risk menstruating adolescents from rural Mashonaland Central were interviewed using a qualitative questionnaire. Through these interviews, the four themes of knowledge, economic environment, physical environment, and confidence, derived from the integrated model of menstrual experience by Hennegan et al. (2019), were analysed to identify the needs of menstruating adolescents regarding menstrual health. The study showed the importance of including the entire ecosystem around the menstruating adolescent. This should be taken into account in any menstrual health intervention aiming to provide education and support. Menstruating adolescents need to have access to a choice-oriented approach in the provision of menstrual products and have access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene facility standards such as clean water and privacy in gender-segregated lavatories. The study recommends conducting further research in the local contexts of Mashonaland Central, Zimbabwe, and other rural areas, and designing interventions using a bottom-up approach, integrating the target population and community in all steps of designing a menstrual health intervention, taking into account the local environment, cultural beliefs, and context.

National guidelines recommend rotavirus vaccination to inpatient preterm infants.

The aim was to perform a literature search of the latest evidence of administration of dose 1 of rotavirus vaccine to children admitted in neonatal intensive care or special care unit settings. The literature search focused on the outcome of serious adverse events of rotavirus vaccination in vaccinated children and on possible symptomatic infection in controls and in unvaccinated children via transmission of the vaccine virus in the same ward. Results and guidelines were discussed with a working group selected from the national advisory group of child health. Also, a survey to neonatal care units in Sweden was sent out due to the subject. Administration of rotavirus vaccine is safe for age-eligible preterm children and unvaccinated children in the same ward. A satisfactory immune response has been shown, and basic hygiene routines are enough. Also, hospitalised age-eligible children with paediatric surgical conditions should be considered the rotavirus vaccine. The Swedish Public Health Agency recommends that preterm infants as well as children who are admitted for other reasons in the neonatal ward be vaccinated with dose 1 against rotavirus infection when hospitalised and when age eligible.

Survival of Mycobacterium abscessus complex organisms on coins.

To date, there have been no reports on the occurrence of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) organisms (nor tuberculosis [TB]) on money, currency, banknotes, or coins, where these may act as fomites in the potential transmission of mycobacterial organisms around communities, especially in developing nations, where physical currency is still the popular mainstay of the economy, compared to electronic and digital forms of currency transaction. It was therefore the aim of this study to examine the survival of the Mycobacterium abscessus complex organisms on coins. Coins from 17 countries were examined for the presence of M. abscessus complex organisms by broth enrichment in Middlebrook 7H9 for 2 months. Nickel-plated steel and copper-plated steel coins were artificially contaminated individually with M. abscessus complex (circa 107 [7 log10] organisms/coin), including M. abscessus subsp. massiliense (n = 2), M. abscessus subsp. bolletti (n = 2), and M. abscessus subsp. abscessus (n = 1) and their surviving cells enumerated at weekly period up to 5-week postinoculation. NTM organisms were not isolated from coins from the 17 currencies examined. In all three subspecies of M. abscessus, the copper-plated steel coins caused a more rapid decline in organism numbers, which were statistically very significant (P < 0.0001), compared to the paired survival on the nickel-plated steel coins, whereby organisms were none detectable after 3-week storage on the copper-plated coins. NTM organisms survived better on the nickel-plated coins, with a mean count across all subspecies of log10 1.84 colony forming units per coin after 5 weeks of storage (range: 0.6-2.69 log10 cfu/coin). There was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05; 5%) in the survival dynamics among the three subspecies with storage on either coin type. Health-care professionals should be aware of the survival of M. abscessus complex organisms on coins for up to 12 weeks, which may be particular relevant in high-risk areas of health-care institutions where TB or NTM is prevalent and where there are opportunities for the transmission of such organisms through contaminated fomites, including coins, through opportunities including payment for treatments/medicines/dressings, coin-operated payment facilities, such as hospital car parking, self-service vending machines, hospital canteens, coffee shops and dining halls and hospital shops, whether static or mobile onward visits. To mitigate potential infection consequences of handling coins contaminated with M. abscessus complex organisms, other NTMs organisms and TB, the authors support re-establishing the principles of basic hygiene, including proper handwashing and the avoidance of handling money when working with food or dressing wounds and skin lesions, as well as when working with respiratory devices, including nebulizers.

Is administered competition suitable for dealing with a public health emergency? Lessons from the local healthcare system at the centre of early COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.

The Lombardy Region, Italy, was the most severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. In absence of effective treatments and with basic hygiene measures made mandatory, Lombardy response to COVID-19 relied on its healthcare system characteristics, the administered competition or "quasi-market" model. The aim of the study was to review the strengths and weaknesses of Lombardy's response during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, to explore whether the healthcare model influenced crisis management and describe which policies could help to contain future outbreaks. The results are expected to provide similar healthcare systems with lessons to avoid mistakes and learn from best practice. Data for quantitative analyses on the performance of the Lombardy and Veneto Regions healthcare systems were derived from existing government sources including the Italian Civil Protection Agency and the Ministry of Health. Lombardian quasi-market model, traditionally characterized by a strong hospital network, was held responsible for many suboptimal outcomes. According to critics, years of disinvestments in community care resulted in a hospital overload. However, the same model was responsible for other positive outcomes which have been substantially neglected, such as the opportunity to test for effective containment treatments in a safe environment and rapidly extend the number of beds. The performance of a quasi-market model against public health emergencies largely depends on integration between policy-makers and balance between healthcare providers, which require clear regulation. Reducing institutional fragmentation between levels of governance, improving the coordination of healthcare facilities and adopting telemedicine technologies are means by which healthcare networks could strengthen their resilience against future outbreaks.

ANALYSIS OF THE EFFICIENCY OF THE METHODS DISINFECTION AND STERILIZATION IN DENTAL

Scientific approbation is devoted to the issues of disinfection and sterilization in dentistry, requirements for the prevention and prevention of transmission of infectious diseases through unsterilized medical instruments and equipment. The paper provides basic information on research and development in this area, describes certain methods of sterilization, control over the quality of its implementation and the effectiveness of these measures. Basic hygiene requirements were identified to improve the quality of treatment and the level of dental care. The main difficulties, difficulties and errors that employees of a medical institution may encounter during disinfection and sterilization in dentistry are considered and studied.

Knowledge and Practice of Personal Hygiene among Rural Women in Northern Bangladesh

Background: Sanitation and hygiene have huge impact on human health particularly on death and morbidity of children which are influenced by mother knowledge and practice on the issues.&#x0D; Aim: The study aimed to assess the present situation of knowledge and practices of basic health hygiene and sanitation of the rural farm families in Northern Bangladesh with a view to find the ground for development initiative towards a better health and sanitation systems. The study also aimed to identify the regional variations in health and sanitation systems in Northern Bangladesh with a view to offer policy support and development.&#x0D; Methodology: The study was conducted in six sub-districts of three poverty-prone districts – Gaibandha, Rangpur and Kurigram. The multi-stage cluster sampling process yielded a sample size of 386 household (HH) covering 24 different villages. Data was collected by trained assistants following a face-to-face interview using structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics were used to organize the table with results. Chi-square test was used to assess the regional variations in knowledge and practice of hygiene and sanitation.&#x0D; Results: About 70% families use unsafe latrines where a significant portion of them are open pit types (33%) having no latrines floor (32%) and wall (75%). More than half of the child-bearing mothers have poor knowledge therefore they directly through the feces outside and did not wash hand properly after cleaning the defecated children and toilets/potty. Many of them do not know that they should wash hand before breast feeding (50%), prior to food preparation (77%), after cleaning of animals (79%) and after any activity (97%). Women of Gaibanda district was the better user of flash toilet and good habit of washing hand after toilet use. Better disposal of domestic waste was observed among the women of Kurigram District. In all respect women of Rangpur was mediocre in hygiene practice. Except disposal of children feces and hand washing before eating significant regional variations were found in type of toilet used, disposal of domestic waste, hand washing before food preparation, hand washing before feeding their child, after toilet use, after cleaning toilet of child and after cleaning the animal.&#x0D; Conclusion: More awareness program and subsidy policy should be taken for improving sanitation and hygiene with keeping in mind the regional variations in hygiene practice.

PNS13 Comparative Network Efficiency Analysis of Brazil Response to COVID-19 at State Level

Efficiency analyses of health systems are often limited to hospital applications or macroeconomic evaluations considering a single production process. This application using a two-stage prevention and cure network perspective highlights nonparametric frontier estimations more coherently with the current COVID-19 pandemic scenario. This two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis methodology estimates cost efficiencies of preventing an increasing propagation of COVID-19 using the Federal Government COVID-19 expenditures as input and the inverse rate of cases as output (standardized by population) in the first stage. The second stage for the technical efficiency (cure model) has the number of ICUs, ventilators and medical staff (nurses, assistants and physicians) as input and success rate (the difference between the number of infected and deaths) as output. Two efficient states on both prevention and cure models (Acre and Roraima). Pernambuco is deemed efficient in preventing COVID-19 (3 states total), and São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Amapá, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (7 states) in cure. About 1400 ICU admissions, 590 ventilators and more than 100 thousand medical staff can be spared directed by best practices from these seven efficient states. The most inefficient states in preventing the pandemic are São Paulo (0.028), Bahia (0.076), Rio Grande do Sul (0.087) and Paraná (0.098), also reporting low social isolation. The most inefficient states in cure are Rio de Janeiro (0.231), Pernambuco (0.277), and Rio Grande do Norte (0.439). The proposed methodology offers an interesting framework combining both public health perspectives as responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brief comments can be made on Pernambuco's mapping technologies available for the general population; the cooperation between the government and NGOs in Roraima for providing EPIs, tests, food and hygiene items for indigenous districts (reducing potential propagations without expanding governments expenditures); and Acre's campaigns for basic hygiene, and pandemic control.

Effectiveness of green tea mouthwash for improving oral health status in oral cancer patients: A single-blind randomized controlled trial

BackgroundPainful oral mucositis or trismus, caused by cancer therapy, reduces patients’ willingness to maintain basic oral hygiene and eventually results in a poor oral health status. Using mouth rinses and cleaning the tongue are popular ways to improve the oral health status. ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of green tea mouthwash for improving the oral health status in oral cancer patients undergoing cancer treatment. DesignThis was a prospective, single-blind, randomized, controlled trial. SettingsPatients were recruited from a major regional teaching hospital that provides specialist cancer care services in Chia-Yi, Taiwan, from July 2018 to June 2020. ParticipantsA total of 63 patients met the following criteria: > 20 years old; newly diagnosed with oral cancer by a physician; treated with oral surgery within one month prior; and completion of follow-up, with or without chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The exclusion criteria were mental illness; an acute and severe illness; complete edentulism; and inability to open the mouth more than 1 cm. MethodsPatients were randomly assigned to 2 groups: the mouthwash with green tea (intervention) group or the tap water (control) group. After each teeth-brushing procedure, those in the intervention group rinsed the mouth with 100 ml of a green tea solution for 60 seconds, and those in the control group rinsed the mouth with 100 ml of tap water for 60 seconds. The primary outcome was the oral health status, which was evaluated according to the Oral Assessment Guide and measured at baseline and at every monthly outpatient follow-up until six months by the same nurse. ResultsThere were 31 subjects in the intervention group and 30 subjects in the control group in the final analysis. The results of t-test showed that compared with baseline, the improvement in the oral health status in the intervention group was significantly better than that in the control group at 4 months after the intervention began. At 4 to 6 months after the intervention began, the oral health status score in the intervention group significantly decreased, by 1.71, 2.97 and 2.93 points, respectively, compared with that in the control group. ConclusionsThe oral health status can be improved and maintained for a long time with the continuous use of green tea mouthwash. Green tea mouthwash is a simple, natural, effective and safe intervention that should be recognized as a nonpharmacological treatment option for protecting the oral mucosa. Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT04615780

INCREASING HAIRDRESSING COMPLIANCE WITH A CHILD WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) itself can include problems with hyper responsiveness to different sensory stimuli. These difficulties can lead to different maladaptive behavioral manifestations and prevent children diagnosed with ASD from participating in certain activities. The aim of the present case study was to examine the effectiveness of shaping procedure application in order to increase compliance with haircutting with a six year old boy diagnosed with ASD. The procedure used for increasing compliance while getting a haircut was shaping and we divided the intervention into two phases. Phase one involved teaching the participant to tolerate the presence of the hair clipper on his head, while phase two consisted of increasing participant’s toleration of the sound emitted by the hair clipper. Generalization probe involved taking the participant into a hair salon, where he would receive hair grooming performed by a professional hair stylist. The child mastered phase one in 54 trials that were conducted during five sessions and mastered the goal time in phase two in 89 trials that were conducted during four sessions. In conclusion, shaping procedure appears to be an effective and efficient training procedure for teaching skills that are important for future everyday functioning in society of children with ASD, as well as basic hygiene skills, such as hair cutting. Study limitations and future research implications are discussed.&#x0D; &#x0D; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0758/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Cross-contamination of lettuce with Campylobacter spp. via cooking salt during handling raw poultry.

Campylobacter spp. are the most common bacterial pathogens associated with human gastroenteritis in industrialized countries. Contaminated chicken is the food vehicle associated with the majority of reported cases of campylobacteriosis, either by the consumption of undercooked meat or via cross- contamination of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods during the handling of contaminated raw chicken parts and carcasses. Our results indicate that cooking salt (used for seasoning) is a potential vehicle for Campylobacter spp. cross-contamination from raw chicken to lettuce, through unwashed hands after handling contaminated chicken. Cross-contamination events were observed even when the chicken skin was contaminated with low levels of Campylobacter spp. (ca. 1.48 Log CFU/g). The pathogen was recovered from seasoned lettuce samples when raw chicken was contaminated with levels ≥ 2.34 Log CFU/g. We also demonstrated that, once introduced into cooking salt, Campylobacter spp. are able to survive in a culturable state up to 4 hours. After six hours, although not detected following an enrichment period in culture medium, intact cells were observed by transmission electron microscopy. These findings reveal a “novel” indirect cross-contamination route of Campylobacter in domestic settings, and a putative contamination source to RTE foods that are seasoned with salt, that might occur if basic food hygiene practices are not adopted by consumers when preparing and cooking poultry dishes.

‘When you preach water and you drink wine’: WASH in healthcare facilities in Kenya

Abstract Access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene, waste management and environment cleaning (WASH) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) is critical for infection prevention and control. The WHO/UNICEF 2019 global baseline report on WASH in HCFs indicates that 51 and 23% of those in sub-Saharan Africa have basic access to water and sanitation, respectively. Guided by the political ecology of health theory, this research engaged with 13 key informants, 16 healthcare workers and 31 community members on their experiences on the implementation, use and management of WASH in HCFs. Interviews were conducted in one informal settlement and three rural dispensaries in Kisumu, Kenya from May to September 2019. Findings indicate improvement in water access, yet water quality and other WASH service components remain a challenge even in newly constructed maternity facilities, thus impacting local health promotion efforts. Institutional challenges such as limited financial resources and ecological factors like climate variability and disease outbreaks compromised WASH infrastructure and HCF resilience. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3, good health and well-being, as well as Sustainable Development Goal 6, clean water and sanitation, the prioritisation of WASH in HCFs is required at all levels, from the local to the global.

Neurocysticercosis: Current Perspectives on Diagnosis and Management.

Porcine cysticercosis, human taeniasis, and (neuro)cysticercosis are endemic in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where they present a significant health burden to affected communities. Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is one of the leading causes of human epilepsy in many hyperendemic regions in Latin America, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports an estimated 2.5–8.3 million cases of NCC annually with a disability-adjusted life year (DALY) burden of 2.8 million, but as for all neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), these values are likely to be underestimated. Diagnosis of NCC is complex and most accurately diagnosed using clinical neuroimaging that is unavailable in most hyperendemic regions in LMIC. On January 28, 2021, WHO will launch its road map for the NTDs' “Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030.” Taeniasis/cysticercosis is targeted for control success considered as steady increase in the number of countries with intensified control in hyperendemic areas [increasing from 2 (3%) in 2020 to 4 (6%) in 2023, to 9 (14%) by 2025, and to 17 (27%) by 2030]. Cross-cutting targets that include 100% access to at least basic water supply, sanitation, and hygiene in areas endemic for NTDs and 75% integrated treatment coverage for preventative chemotherapy will additionally impact on the taeniasis/cysticercosis/NCC complex. With no vaccine available for humans, prevention of infection depends on communication to the public of the life cycle of a complex zoonosis to promote behavior change, underpinned by practical control measures including treatment of human taeniasis and (neuro)cysticercosis with albendazole and praziquantel [widely used as part of the mass drug administration (MDA) deworming programs], surgery where appropriate, and effective vaccination and deworming for pigs supported by meat inspection. Here, we review recent advances in tools and implementation for Taenia solium taeniasis/(neuro)cysticercosis (TSTC) control and milestones on the onward path to elimination.