Britain has the dirtiest kitchens!!
A national news story recently reported on the results of a global survey, which found that Britain has the dirtiest kitchens in the developed world! According to the survey of over 10,000 people in ten different countries, two thirds of Britons ignore basic home hygiene and could be exposing themselves to the risk of infection. This shows there is still a need for the public to be educated about germs and how they spread in the home and ensure that awareness translates into good hygiene practice.
The main culprits for harbouring and spreading bacteria are kitchen cloths, with the report showing that nine out of ten are contaminated with bugs such as E.coli, salmonella and campylobacter, which can cause food poisoning. To help keep your dishcloths hygienically clean, Domestos recommends: wash and rinse them out after use and leave to soak in a dilute solution of bleach overnight. Allow them to dry thoroughly.
Sinks and taps were also highlighted as breeding grounds for germs, with more than a third of sinks shown as being ’heavily contaminated with bugs‘ and 15 per cent showed the presence of E.coli Cleaning sinks, taps and other kitchen surfaces including work tops and chopping boards with a bleach based cleaner, as well as regularly washing hands are good measures to help reduce the risk of germs spreading.
For further information visit the germ hotspots in the kitchen page.
The New Year Norovirus outbreak
The sickness bug Norovirus continues to sweep the nation with the first full working week of 2008 underway and children returning to school.
Whilst GP surgeries were closed during the Christmas break, NHS Direct received twice as many calls regarding the virus as they received over the same period last year and the reported cases of Norovirus from early December are at a five-year-high. The extent of the outbreak has been discussed in detail in the papers, with reports that the virus has been responsible for the closure of over 100 wards to new admissions in the attempt to bring the outbreak under control. The Royal College of General Practitioners estimated last week that 100,000 people per week will catch the virus, and in this week's papers the estimated figure has risen to up to 200,000 (The Express - 5th January, Daily Mail - 7th January).
The news articles have also included advice from experts on measures the public should take to prevent the spread of Norovirus, these include: hand washing, disinfecting surfaces such as door handles, taps and toilet seats with a bleach-based cleaner, and to remain away from work for three days until the virus is no longer contagious (see further information in the advice sheet available here to download). It is hoped that people take the advice in order to contain the virus before it spreads further into work places and schools.
Clostridum difficile outbreak
Members of the general public and healthcare professionals alike will have seen recent news stories regarding outbreaks of the superbug Clostridium difficile in a number of hospitals in Kent. As well as providing a fact sheet on the Clostridium difficile (also known as C. difficile) for your reference Domestos has also summarised recent news coverage of this issue below.
The news broke after a report was released by a government watchdog on the 11th Oct 2007 following an outbreak of C. difficile last year, resulting in a number of patients becoming infected. The Healthcare Commission investigated three of the hospitals within the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust - Maidstone Hospital, Kent and Sussex Hospital & Penbury Hospital.
If you would like to see The Healthcare Commission's report in full click on the following link:
During their investigation the Commission found that 345 people whose deaths had been attributed to other illnesses had also been infected with C. difficile. For 90 of the 345 C. difficile was estimated to have either been 'definitely' or 'probably' the main cause of death.
The press have reported that poor infection control measures and the spread of infection between patients and wards was an important factor in these cases. One of the key aims of the Healthcare Commissions recent report, looking forwards, is to publicize the findings to the NHS as a whole to establish the best ways to prevent, control & treat infection with C. difficile within hospitals.
