McKeflex in your McNuggets?

An interesting news story in the September 5 Lancet looks at cephalosporin use in poultry production. It notes surveillance data from Quebec showing an association between cephalosporin use on chicken farms and cephalosporin resistance in bacteria found in retail chicken products and humans. The US FDA proposed new regulations for cephalosporin use last year, including banning the practice of injecting chicken eggs with the drugs before they are hatched. The American Veterinary Medicine Association protested and the FDA withdrew the proposal.

CDC press conference

Well, I got nothin' from that.......the CDC apparently doesn't want to talk about the IOM report until they have more time ("days to weeks") to study it. I can summarize it for them, if it would help: we think health care workers should wear properly fitted N95 masks while providing care to patients with known or suspected novel H1N1 infection. Also,.......more studies are needed.

There.

IOM report out

And a CDC press conference is about to begin. As expected, the IOM endorsed the use of N95s for care of patients with suspected H1N1.....

What will they think of next?

There's a new iPhone app, Outbreaks Near Me, that allows the user to view maps of occurrences of infectious diseases based on media reports. Users can search by disease or geographic location. This must be a nightmare for germophobes.

IOM report

Looks like it will be later today or tomorrow before we know the details of the IOM recommendations to CDC regarding personal protective equipment for care of patients with suspected novel H1N1. I’ll wait to comment until those details are available. If, as expected, IOM supports the current CDC position, it will be interesting to see how the state departments of public health will react, at least in states that have gone with the WHO guidance until now. It will also be interesting to see if future CDC guidance for seasonal flu includes recommendations for N95 masks—or will we have to individually assess each individual influenza strain in the future, to determine exactly what PPE is required?

Sigh

When will the media stop inviting a serial liar to misinform the public about healthcare reform? There are a lot of smart people out there with important things to say about making our system better. She is not one of them.

Wow

Just heard through the grapevine that the IOM is going to support the CDC guidance about respiratory protection for novel H1N1....which means using an N95 for all patient contact when H1N1 is suspected (i.e. everyone with febrile respiratory illness!). I'm in clinic right now, but I'm sure Mike and I will have much more to say about this later......