THE "BUG" THAT "BUGS" THE HUMANS!

Infectious diseases are caused and spread by microorganisms like bacteria, virus, fungus etc which are not visible to the naked eye. This lulls humans to ignore their existence around them. If there is a multi billion vaccine industry that thrives across the world, thanks are due to these invisible agents of disease. Recall the recent H1N1 pandemic which kept the whole world on tenterhooks for more than 6 months because of its potential to infect youngsters and spread rapidly. Being a new strain of virus with unknown features, preventive vaccines were not immediately available. Even to day the vaccines for H1N1 are just coming out of the laboratory and only limited doses are available for use against most vulnerable population. This is a classical example of a tiny organism with less than a few microns in size terrorizing the whole world with uncontrolled roll for a few months beginning in Mexico in early 2009.

If the world is safe from such dreaded diseases like Small Pox, Polio, Whooping Cough, Influenza and others the pharma industry played a major role in developing appropriate vaccines for mass immunization of children at young age. In contrast food borne diseases claim human lives periodically through consumption of contaminated foods during manufacture, storage, transport and retailing. Restaurants are highly vulnerable to food related safety problems as most of their preparations are intended to be consumed within a few hours of their making. But unpredictable clientele can often result in surplus production which is preserved in low temperature storage rooms. Added to this the cooking and serving personnel can cause cross infection through the food they cook or serve on which very little control is possible.

An object as small as a pin head can hold more than 10 million bacteria which under favorable conditions can double its population in less than 20 minutes. How do they get into the food even if it is adequately covered? Almost 40% of food born infectious diseases are caused by humans through their hands and 10 million people are reported to be affected by such food infection every year. 80% of all incidences of infection related illnesses are attributed to the hands of persons who spread them through contact with many surfaces depositing the pathogens in the process. Such deposited colonies can stay dormant for 3 months looking for opportune time and conditions to spread. 30-50% of all persons, though looking healthy carry the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus which can cause a range of diseases. They are found usually on the skin or under the nose or in the mouth. Though they are not generally harmful to those carrying them under normal circumstances, a break in the skin,a burn or other injury allows this bacteria to penetrate the body's defense and cause infection. Imagine this particular bacteria staying dormant in hosts' body for years together without causing any harm but infecting others more susceptibility.

Food borne S.aureus infection can be mild in many cases resulting in gastroenteritis which may last 8-24 hours with out much complications. But endotoxin and exotoxin produced by some strains of S.aureus can have serious consequences unless their population is controlled through antibiotic drug therapy. Septic arthritis, endocarditis and pneumonia can be facilitated by S.aureus under certain circumstances. Multi drug Resistant S.aureus, better known as MRSA is a major concern because of the difficulties in treating infections caused by them. Its prevalence in western countries is thought to be due to practice of using antibiotics extensively by the meat industry, causing the drug resistance over a period of time. Almost 2 billion people in the world are carriers of S.aureus out of which 53 million carry the MRSA version.

WHO and medical community world over have now recognized "hand washing" as the most dependable preemptive procedure for avoiding spread of microbial infections. According to the hand washing protocol being advocated, the hands are placed under water, soap is applied, hands are rubbed together for at least 20 seconds, washing in fresh tepid running water all parts of the hand including palms, wrists, back of hands and under the nails, removing all adhering dirt from wrist down to finger tips pointing down wards. Drying with clean disposable tissue paper will remove the bacteria almost completely. Washing of hands is a must every time after touching body parts, using rest rooms, coughing, sneezing, after handling money, garbage, touching dirty surfaces and picking up things from the floor.

One can only wonder as to how many people in a country like India practice hand washing and probably many infectious diseases could be prevented if such good habits are inculcated from early childhood at home and in schools. On the other hand Indians might have built enough immunity to S.aureus from early childhood due to progressive and frequent exposure to contaminated environment where most of them are brought up, hand washing practice not widely in vogue, sucking of thumbs and fingers during early childhood and less protected food handling practices. Probably S.aureus infection assumes serious visible proportion only with over protected populations living in near sterile environments.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

ARE YOUR HANDS CLEAN?-CHECK, TO BE SURE

Food industry is faced with the greatest challenge in restoring confidence in the consumers regarding its ability to offer safe foods after a series of episodes of food contamination and costly product recalls in many western countries. It is another matter that contaminated foods do not get sufficient attention in India due to the lax monitoring and enforcement practices prevalent in the country and absence of product liability system sparing the manufacturers as well as the traders from punitive corrective actions. A ray of hope emanated from the corridors of power that is supposed to oversee the food safety in the country, when hotels in New Delhi were chosen to grade them into different categories based on hygiene and food quality, probably keeping in mind the forth coming Common Wealth Games hosted there by India. Whether the declaration of 'intent' will transform into reality remains to be seen.

Inputs for food processing such as raw materials and water, the infrastructure and services, the environment where facilities are located and working personnel are the major sources of microbiological contamination resulting in spoiled foods and consequent damages to the consumer health. Out of these, people involved in handling foods in the processing floor are the carriers of pathogenic vectors, transferring them to the food through their direct contact or through the air they exhale. Till the robots take control of food handling, human hands are bound to be the most crucial tool to manage various operations that constitute processing. While personnel health can be monitored through medical check ups and daily examination, keeping the hands clean is fraught with many practical difficulties. Hands are invariably used by a human during coughing, sneezing, gargling, eating and drinking, visit to the toilets, washing of face and feet and many other purposes. The microbial status of the hands is under a flux, continuously changing during different times of the day.

Current practices of keeping hands clean include washing with soap or detergent and drying or wiping and using antiseptic preparations before entering the preparation area. There is no guarantee that hands of the operators are really clean before entering the processing area because many factors will influence the efficacy of this critical step. Extent of detergent used, quantity of water used, thoroughness of forming the suds and their spread through out the hand, method of drying the hand all will determine how clean the hands are after each washing. According to WHO a person who washes hands often is 24% less likely to acquire a respiratory illness and 45-50% less likely to suffer from a stomach upset. 80% of all illnesses and infections are transported by touch where hand plays the prominent role. A thorough hand washing calls for vigorously scrubbing with water and soap until lather appears, making sure to get them between fingers and finger nails which generally takes about 20 seconds to complete followed by drying with a towel.

Innovations in hospitals which are continuously on alert regrading infection from pathogenic microorganisms are greatly relevant to the food industry managers also and the industry needs to learn from their experience. Popular sanitizing hand gels and liquids, though touted to be efficient, were found to be less effective in practice than washing with plenty of water because the bacteria could still remain on the hand, when not washed. Water and soap wash down these contaminants from hand removing their very source. To make the washing hand operation more reliable, electronic sensors have been developed to detect presence of extraneous matter on the hand which are being tried out in some hospitals in the western countries. Washed hands when brought under a wall-mounted scanner are tested for cleanliness and inadequate cleaning can trigger alarm signals that can be detected, logged and monitored for every individual worker in the organization entering the processing area. Workers wearing appropriate badges pick up the signals and those not cleared can go for more thorough washing. Hot air drying can take as much as 20-30 seconds while towels and tissue paper are often used for quick drying. Drying of washed hands before scanning can now be done in a few seconds using air blades at room temperature using compressed air at 400 miles per hour velocity.

Hand washing is increasingly receiving attention especially during recent weeks because of the pandemic H1N1 virus spreading Swine Flu across the world, expected to affect almost 2 billion people within 2 years. Most effective way of avoiding the infection is washing the hands as often as possible since hands are known pick up the infection first before transferring to the lungs through soft tissues of the nose, mouth and eyes.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

A CHILD'S 'DAY IN"-CURBING SPREAD OF INFECTION

Many working couples with infants, having barely enough time, especially on week days, to prepare for leaving home for the work place, face enormous odds in coping up with such daily pressures and tensions. While some have retired parents to take care of the children when they are away from home on official work, many others depend on creches and day care centers to park their kids for 6--10 hours a day. Compared to children of yester years, to day's kids are more prone to frequent ailments like cold, flu, diarrhea, cough etc probably because of lesser resistance to infections polluted environment that are prevalent in many urban areas of the country. Though they go through the prescribed regime of modern vaccination without any default, there are too many vectors of infection that are not immunizable which can cause temporary discomfort to the children.

Common cold, winter crud, lingering nasal drips, irritating cough are all too common amongst pre-school children which do not need hospitalization. There may be vomiting and fever which can be serious requiring medical attention with least delay. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a relatively harmless vector as far as adults and School Children are concerned but it can cause serious damage to infants, if not promptly attended to. It is not realized that children can carry a viral infection without showing typical symptoms for some time and even after apparent curing they can still be a source of infection. On the other hand, RSV infected children may cough for weeks without necessarily having the virus particles still in their body because the virus had affected the linings of their lungs during its active phase and it takes time to heal the inflammation which is responsible for the drip.

Immunization against Flu, the most common affliction amongst children and old age people, is possible but plain cold has to be endured for as long as 21 days in some cases. Use of many 'Cold Remedies', often available as "Over the Counter" medicines needing no prescription by a physician is positively ruled out for babies under the age of two years because of unpredictable consequence. Viral particles generally gain entry into the blood through the receptive epithelium of the nose and the eyes. There is the usual tendency for the children to rub the areas near the nose and the eyes due to irritation and contact with such children can spread the infection to others. In a recent classical study of hospital environment which can be a place for spreading infection, it was reported that those who stood near an infected baby and those who touched the baby as well as the crib were highly vulnerable to catching the infection while those keeping some distance from the crib were not affected at all. It is against this back ground that hospitals insist on a rigorous practice of thorough washing of hands every time some one goes near an infected baby. Creches and pre-school institutions also should have such facilities so that between handling two children the concerned personnel practice thorough hand washing. Encouraging children to wash their hands as frequently as possible will also cut down the probability of spreading infection to a great extent.

Biggest worry for parents is when they should be keeping their children home during times of infection. If an actively infected baby is sent to such public places there is high probability of passing on the infection to other babies with the least resistant one being affected first. While common cold, nasal drips and cough can be ignored for sending the child to creche, it will be irresponsible if children with fever or vomiting are encouraged to attend such day care centers. They must stay home even if there is inconvenience for the parents. Diarrhea, by itself, is a different proposition and as long as food is not handled with soiled hands there may not be any hazard to others, though keeping such children at home, if possible, will be a better proposition for their comfort.

The oft repeated slogan" wash your hands before eating" needs to be changed to "wash your hands as often as possible". Such training must start at home where young kids are encouraged to go to the wash basin for washing their hands regularly after every activity. Washing with soap or disinfectant can be insisted on before eating the food and after visiting the toilet every time. A child trained like this will be least affected by fellow children attending the day care center even when the latter carry viral infection. In any creche or day care center where all the kids are trained for hand washing regimen, serious infections will be far and few.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/