| Nicole Kenny (3)

Nicole Kenny

Nicole Kenny, HBSc, Assoc Chem Vice President, Professional and Technical Services

Summer cough due to cold...or Legionnaires’ disease?

Summer is the time for family vacations and idyllic thoughts
of travelling to new destinations.
Reality generally includes squabbles with your spouse or significant
other and your ungrateful and often whiny children repeatedly asking ‘are we
there yet?” or stating “I want to go home so I can play with my friends”. New York City or NYC is definitely one of the
those places that many summer vacationers flock to, but this summer some people
may be considering alternative plans in light of the fact that NYC (or at least
The South Bronx) has been experiencing a Legionella outbreak since early July.

The Plague is not just for the Middle Ages....

You have to love when a plan comes together or when a new
story ties perfectly into a previous blog and gives you the perfect jumping off
point! That’s the case for this week’s
blog. If you recall a few weeks ago I
wrote a blog about “Where
the next hotspot for zoonotic diseases would be” where according to a model
developed by researchers, Kansas and Nebraska were highly likely to be added to
the likes of China, Kazakhstan and parts of the Middle East as zoonotic
hotspots. It appears the model may have
been a little bit off and Colorado should have been included
among the upcoming hotspots.

#FF Summer Reading and Relaxing

As we have done for the last several years, during the
summer months we review a couple books or blogs that we think are worth
reading....or at least thinking about reading.
Since I’m on vacation this week the topic of summer reading is relevant
and I’m doing just that; lounging in the sun, relaxing and catching up on some
books I've been meaning to dive into.
Admittedly, not all my reading is educational. I’m balancing my time between education and
complete and utter fluff. By utter
fluff, I mean books that I only read on my Kobo so that people cannot see what
drivel I am reading!

Armadillos – touch at your own risk!

If you’re an avid reader of the “Talk Clean To Me” blog
you’ll have noticed over the last several months we’ve chatted about the
concept of One
Health and zoonotic
diseases . If you’re not as avid a
reader, zoonotic diseases are diseases that can be passed between animals
and humans and can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. Unfortunately, zoonotic diseases are
not rare; in fact, scientists estimate that more than 6 out of every 10 infectious diseases
in humans are spread from animals.

Don’t believe everything you read!

One of the best courses I took in university was a wildlife
biology ecology course. OBVIOUSLY, the
course material is not relevant to my current job, but the professor spent a
better course of a month drilling into us that there are always two sides to every
story and not to read and believe everything you see in print. He did not care if it was a blog (admittedly
those weren’t around in my university days), a newsletter article or a peer
reviewed journal article. We were taught
to look at what was presented critically and determine if both sides of the
story were being presented equally or if the story, article or study was being
presented in a manner that was a little less balanced. As a result of this course and a couple of
great mentors, I admit I may be a bit jaded when reading articles and
studies. I generally don’t take things
at face value and generally drive people insane with my sometimes never-ending
stream of questions. Much to the chagrin
of my colleagues, I’m the self proclaimed “Ya, but..." girl.

Who’s the last man/women (girl) standing!

Adult Adventures and “Aducation” at APIC 2015

Okay, I made up a word.....but none of the “a” words for
EDUCATION worked and since I so love alliterations this allowed me to string 6
“a” words together – a tie with my “PEDv
Pooping Pigs Pose Pharaonic Problems” back in January 2014.

Clean that room STAT!

Where will the next hotspot for zoonotic diseases be?

I admit, I’m a full fledge junkie when it comes to epidemiology. Epidemiology studies the patterns, causes,
and effects of health and disease conditions by identifying risk factors for
disease. It’s like studying puzzles - and
for someone who loves nothing better than finding the optimal way to pack a
trunk with all the junk you pack for a vacation, trying to find out the what’s,
where’s and why’s of a latest disease outbreak is fascinating.

IPAC-Canada 2015: Victorious learning in Victoria!

Spring is a season many of us look forward to - longer and
warmer days, the snow is gone, the birds are back and flowers and trees are
budding and blooming! Allergy sufferers
and asthmatics may rue Springs' arrival, but if you're an Infection
Preventionist you are probably downright giddy for Spring as it signifies the arrival of two of the biggest
infection prevention and control conferences in North America: IPAC-Canada and
APIC. If you're Canadian, you are
probably counting down the hours until you fly off to Victoria to enjoy 5 days
of work free, kid free, spouse free educational fun! If you're like me, you're also probably
trying to figure out how to get that last pair of shoes to fit in your suitcase!

Is there an animal in your family closet?

As mentioned in the “Welcome to
2015” blog, this year we want to intertwine content from areas outside of
healthcare. One of the areas that we
want to spend more time on is around the concept of “One Health”. This is a growing movement with the intention
to create interdisciplinary collaborations, research and education in all aspects
of health care for humans, animals and the environment. The One Health concept recognizes that the
health of humans is CONNECTED to the health of animals and the environment and vice
versa.

Reasons to Read the Fine Print....

I admit, tonight I jumped to conclusions when it came to my
husband’s choice of dish soap. The front panel proudly boasted “KILLS 99.9% of germs”. Being an expert of chemical disinfectants I
instantly assumed that while I have talked, I have explained, I have educated and yes, probably even nagged
against the concerns over the use of antibacterial products at home and triclosan
in particular, he had chosen to ignore my advice and expertise. I automatically jumped to the conclusion that
he had yet again.....not listened.

Do you know what humans, birds, pigs and dogs have in common

Why INFLUENZA of course!

Would you eat off of your desk?

Ask someone what they think of their colleague’s messy desk
and you can be assured you’ll get a strong response. My guess is half of the people you ask will
be “appalled” by how messy a colleagues’ office is and likely chalk it up to
laziness. I suppose if you classify
travelling to much and running from meeting to meeting being lazy then the
somewhat neatly stacked piles of files on my desk could be construed as being
too lazy to file...

Are you afflicted with the Clean Syndrome?

This week I participated in a symposium organized by the ISSA (International Sanitation Supply
Association). The
event focused on The
ROI of Clean – An Industry Forum. There were several key
takeaways from the day, but the "pearl of
wisdom” that really struck a chord with me was the concept of the “Clean
Syndrome”. Some of you may know of it
by another name.....your mom. You know
that person who miraculously was always there to pick up after you and keep the
house tidy? Then one day you grew up,
moved out and wondered how you came to live in such a pig sty?

#FF Spring Buds Enthusiasm for Education!

CRE - Deadly, but not the strongest survivor

Warm Weather, White Legs and Tanning Beds

Disinfectant Chemistry Report Card #19 - Ultraviolet (UV) Room Decontamination

L, M,(N), O, P...Leave Norovirus Mops Off Please!

It's not that I jump at the chance to languish in other
people's misfortunes...BUT when there is a lesson to learn and the
"misfortune" provides a great example of what not to do, or why we
shouldn't do something, you’d want to
bet I'm going to exploit it.

Book Review: Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

Written by David
Quammen, "Spillover" is a highly engaging (at least to me) exploration of animal
infections and the perils they pose for people. Diseases such as influenza, hendra
virus or HIV live in animals such as water fowl, bats or
chimpanzees and as long as they do, the bug can cross to humans and have the
potential to ignite a new epidemic. In fact, some 60 percent of the infections that plague
humankind originated in the bodies of other animals.

Escaped Bacteria Infects Primates and People

Finding cures and developing vaccines is key to stopping the
spread of infectious diseases. We often
learn of newly evolving diseases like SARS,
MERS
or Ebola
through the media. During times of
conflict we often hear of the possibilities of chemical or biological
warfare. But we likely do not give much
thought to the work that may be done in "secret", or perhaps more
accurately described as "on the down-low" in Canada and the US to try
to find vaccines etc. against organisms that could be potentially used as biological agents.

Spring, Robins, Lyme Disease?

CRE, ERCP, OMG!

It's likely that you've seen at least one
news article to do with the spate of recent CRE
(Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae)
outbreaks across several states and facilities that have been linked to Endoscopic retrograde
cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures using duodenoscopes.
ERCP is a relatively common diagnostic procedure that examines diseases
of the liver, bile ducts and pancreas.

Disinfectant Chemistry Report Card #18 - Hydrogen Peroxide Room Decontamination

Generally, decontamination of hospital rooms has been done manually, using
traditional applied disinfectant technologies as we have discussed in previous
Disinfectant Chemistry Report Cards. Concerns
associated with conventional cleaning and disinfection methods include: lack of
proper cleaning and disinfection protocols, incompatibility between the
disinfectant chemistry and cleaning
substrate (e.g. the cloth...), operator error (e.g. was the product
diluted correctly), concerns with unrealistic contact time and if surfaces were
actually contacted. In looking for an
adjunct to improve the level of cleanliness in a patient room, a new technology
has been developed which uses hydrogen peroxide in an automated system to
disinfect rooms.

Prions - they affect more than Mad Cows!

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For many of us...it's not hot. In fact in my part of Ontario our weather
forecast reads something like this "A
period of very cold wind chills is
expected. A strong cold front has
crossed southern Ontario ushering in much colder temperatures and gusty north
winds. Wind chill values this afternoon have generally been between minus 20C
(-4F) and minus 30C (-22F) across most of southern Ontario. Tonight will be very cold across all of southern Ontario. Although the winds will
diminish somewhat, wind chills of minus 30C (-22F) to minus 35C (-31F) are
expected tonight and into Friday morning."

#FF New Year, New Opportunities to Learn

Mommy, this water tastes funny....

Egg or Chicken? IP Guideline or EPA Registered Product?

PCR - Useful, but not reliable for validating cleaning & disinfection practices

The need to be able to verify if cleaning and disinfection
procedures have been completed to ensure successful eradication of pathogens,
particularly in outbreak settings, is of significant importance. In the Healthcare market we have seen a rapid
uptick in the use of UV markers or ATP.
As mentioned last week, 2015 will include topics of interest in the
Animal Health market and not surprisingly, they have their own way of
validating cleaning and disinfection practices.
Where ATP, UV Reflectance or environmental swabbing are commonly used in
the Healthcare sector, the Animal Health sector seems to favour Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR) for determining the health status of animals, as well as
for validating cleaning and disinfection practices. However, as identified in previous blogs, ATP
cannot be used to compare different disinfectant technologies and that caution
needs to be used when interpreting results. Similar to the impacts of
different disinfectants on ATP tests, it is important to recognize that the
mechanism of action of disinfectant chemistries can have a direct impact on the
use and interpretation of PCR test results.

Welcome to 2015!

A Year in Review

I remember my mom telling me as a teenager, the older you get the faster life goes....it seems that she was telling the truth! It's hard to believe that another year is coming to an end and that Lee and I have managed to post 50 more blogs!

Mumps, Men and Moaning

If you're a hockey fan, you are probably well aware of the mumps
outbreak going on in the NHL. I'm a
football fan....so I had no clue, not until Canada's beloved Sidney
Crosby came down with the mumps this week.
That announcement hit my Facebook stream like a cross check from behind....

#FF - Follow Friday

There are times when I think I have a great idea for a blog,
but know that it is sometimes best to allow the idea to "percolate"
to ensure that I temper the message. The
idea I had for my blog this week was based on a question from the field. A question so outrageous that following the
last three weeks' focus on Apathy, the
title that popped to mind was "From Apathy to Stupidity"..... I think I will need to
"percolate" a little more as I think the title needs to be tempered.. I will say however, that there are times
that the hoopla created by media, can make people take leave of their senses
which leaves Infection Preventionists, the EXPERTS in understanding outbreak
management, to be chasing after information that is distracting them from more
important tasks.

Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Apathy has got to go!

Apathy: A Tale of Two Cows

My intent for this week's blog was to continue along the
vein of apathy in our healthcare system when it comes to cleaning and
disinfection, the use and choice of products and instilling compliance
regarding their use to ensure positive patient outcomes. Nothing spells apathy to me then hearing
someone say "I don't care what disinfectant we use, you're the one who
pays for it".... it was then that the narrative for the blog started
forming.

Please accept my condolences

Keypad or Touchscreen: Which is the Lesser of Two Evils?

Just Clean It!

I love writing, but admit there are times when I stare my
computer screen watching my cursor flash on a blank page waiting and hoping for
inspiration to hit. Last month I was in Tampa, FL at AHE's annual conference -
Exchange 2014. One of the sessions I was
fortunate to attend was "Disney's Approach to Service and Culture"
given by Patrick Jordan, a "cast member" (aka employee) at Disney.
Part of the descriptor behind the session was, "It starts with
extraordinary attention to detail in hiring and training, which ensures Disney
on-boards people who fit the culture and consistently do what their roles ask
of them.....you will gain insights to help you not only hire the right people,
but also develop them into employees who are comfortable in their roles and
know their purpose."

Have Wheels? Will travel....including invisible hitchhikers!

Will you take the Infection Prevention Challenge?

For everyone who organized events for Infection Prevention Week, I hope you were able to educate, engage and enjoy in the fruits of your labors!
I thought I would end the week with a little Infection Prevention Trivia to get people to play along. The first person to respond back via the Talk Clean to Me blog, Twitter (@ViroxAHP and @nicolecronkenny), Facebook (the Virox Corporate page) and the Talk Clean To Me LinkedIn group we'll send you a Talk Clean To Me mug! Good Luck!

1. True or False: If you wipe a surface and it does not stay wet for the contact time that has been indicated on the disinfectant product label, disinfection is NOT being achieved!

2. True or False: The amount of liquid being released on a surface and the saturation level of a wipe can be different depending on the type of wipe substrate.

3. True or False: Ebolavirus is caused by a non-enveloped virus and is less susceptible to disinfectants.

4. What HAI am I Riddle: The main symptoms I show are wounds or sores. I've been a problem in healthcare for 20 years or more. I can live in the nose and reside on the skin. And I cannot be killed with methicillin.

5. What HAI am I Riddle: I'm one of the worst of the GI infections. I cause diarrhea and vomiting projections. I'm a hard to kill virus found in healthcare and cruise. So you must be wary of the disinfectant you use.

6. Guess the bug!

IIPW - A time to celebrate and educate!

Over Easy: Why safety profiles and ease of use will improve disinfection

Slippery when wet - the importance of contact times

I'll take Kill Claims for $200

Like a shadow, bugs follows us wherever we go...

Kids, Colds and Enterovirus D68

Back to School - Education is not just for kids!

I'm guessing for many of you Tuesday was a bittersweet
day. Some of you may have been
teary-eyed as you sent your child off to school for the first time
(kindergarten or college / university).
For others it may be that the first day of school could not come soon
enough to get your bothersome kids out of your hair and regain the opportunity
to actually enjoy your morning coffee and read the paper. The really good parents even took pictures
and posted them to Facebook. For me,
Tuesday was just another day because my poor son spent most of the summer in
his Montessori program and I plum forgot to take a picture, post it to Facebook
and brag about how darn cute he is. Shocking, I know.

Influenza - like a teenager, knows no bounds!

I admit, I spend a lot of time trolling the internet. I've given up counting the number of chat
groups, e-newsletters and Google alerts that I have and truthfully many of the
emails I get after a quick scan just get deleted, but how else is a girl to
keep on top of the trends and hot topics in infection prevention and chemical
disinfection? I'm certainly no computer
whiz, but after last week and learning about "Twitterbots" I wish I
were! For now, I'll just have to be my
own Internet and Twitterbot and as luck would have it this week I found a
gem....well at least to me.

Something Powerful

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Nicole Kenny (3)

Nicole Kenny

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