Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)

What are Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)?

CRE are bacteria that are resistant to most antibiotics.  Enterobacteriaceae is a family of
bacteria.  Many of these bacteria live in our environment (in soil or water). Some of them can
get into our bodies and make us sick.  Members of the Enterobacteriaceae family of bacteria
can cause pneumonia, kidney and bladder infections, and bloodstream infections.   Most of the
Enterobacteriaceae can be treated with antibiotics.  However, because antibiotics have been
overused, many of the Enterobacteriaceae have become resistant to most of the available
antibiotics. The carbapenem antibiotics were developed to treat bacteria that had become
resistant to most other antibiotics.  About 10 years ago, we began to see bacteria from the
Enterobacteriaceae family that had become resistant to the carbapenem antibiotics.  These are
called Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae or CRE.

Are CRE dangerous?

They can be, because they are found in hospitals, and can cause infection in people who are
very sick.  Patients in intensive care units are at greatest risk, especially if they are on
ventilators and have central intravenous catheters in place.

Are CRE treatable?

Yes, usually.  However, because we have few antibiotics available to treat CRE, they can be
difficult to treat.  Patients can die from infections with CRE.


How can CRE be transmitted to other patients?

CRE can be transferred from the patient to the environment and to the hands of the care
provider (doctor or nurse or other person) when the care provider touches the patient or touches the patient with medical equipment, then touches another patient.

How can I prevent CRE in myself or a family member?

As far as we know now, the greatest risk for acquiring a CRE is in a hospital, especially in an
ICU.  If you or a family member are hospitalized, you should follow instructions for hand
washing and other infection control measures as requested. You should also expect your nurse
and other care providers to wash their hands and wear gloves and gown if necessary.  If you
have questions, talk with your physician or nurse.

http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/Epidemiology/factsheets/Carbapenem-Resistant_Enterobacteriaceae.htm

HookWorms

The hookworm is a parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. Two species of hookworms commonly infect humans, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus.

      

The live cycle of hookworm in human began when the (1) hookworm larvae enter the body through the skin or mouth and pass into the bloodstream. (2) The larvae travel through the bloodstream to the lungs. (3) Secretions from the lungs, which contain the larvae, are coughed up and swallowed, passing into the stomach. (4) The larvae pass into the intestine, where they mature into adult worms. The head of the adult hookworm has sharp, curved dental plates that enable it to cling to the intestine. (5) Eggs produced by female worms leave the body in the stool. The eggs hatch into larvae in the soil.




Hookworm is a public health problem in Africa, Asia, and South America. These hookworms mainly affect human.

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. it is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; a freshly exposed surface has a reddish-orange color. it is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, a building material, and a constituent of various metal alloys.

Copper occurs naturally as native copper and was known to some of the oldest civilizations on record. it has a history of use that is at least 10,000 years old, and estimates of its discovery place it at 9000 BC in the Middle East; a copper pendant was found in northern Iraq that dates to 8700 BC.

The major applications of copper are in electrical wires (60%), roofing and plumbing (20%) and industrial machinery (15%). copper is mostly used as a metal, but when a higher hardness is required it is combined with other elements to make an alloy (5% of total use) such as brass and bronze.

Copper is an essential trace element in plants and animals, but not some microorganisms. The human body contains copper at a level of about 1.4 to 2.1 mg per kg of body mass. After processing in the liver, copper is distributed to other tissues in a second phase.

Because of copper role in facilitating iron uptake  copper deficiency can produce anemia-like symptoms, neutropenia, bone abnormalities, hypopigmentation, impaired growth, increased incidence of infections, osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, and abnormalities in glucose and cholesterol metabolism.

Community Garden

Community garden is a growing initiative in most American cities and communities. This initiative is intended to encourage local communities to engage in healthy eating practice and organic food consumption. Many communities make used of grants to established community gardens to make the community self reliant and established a relationship with the environment.

Community gardens provide more benefits then just providing organic food, it provides a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, and stimulates social interaction and opportunities for cross-culture connection.
In the fall of 2008 Macon Roots, an organization which promotes community gardening in Macon, started a conversation between the Beall's Hill Neighborhood Association and Centenary Church about creating a neighborhood garden. With the help of volunteers from the neighborhood, Centenary, and Macon Roots, the community broke ground on the garden on May 2, 2009.
A little over three years since the community garden was established I had the opportunity to visit the garden with my class. There I saw fresh vegetables and flowers. There is a great potential for the garden to provide both social and economic benefits for the community but I was disappointed about the under used of the space and abounded plot of land. It might have been my visit to the garden was the wrong time, but the spirit of community interaction and total involvement was absent. It look as if there is a very few people who have interest in the community garden and are working hard to keep it up. I hope they proof me wrong on my next visit to the garden. I hope to see the land fully utilize and experience a sense of community.

(http://bealls-hill-garden.blogspot.com/)

Rachel Carson contribution to the Environmental Movement

The story of every environmental movement start with Rachel Carson. Her book silent spring and her many contributions to keep the environment save from chemicals make her the back bond of the environmental movement. The Environmental Protection Agency look to her as a founding inspiration. The EPA's official history site states: "There is no question...that SILENT SPRING promoted the Federal Government to take action against water and air pollution- as well as against the misuse of pesticides- several years before it otherwise might have moved."

Before there was an environmental movement, there was one brave women and her very brave book. Carson's most direct legacy in the environmental movement was the campaign to ban the use of DDT in the United States. Carson's work, and the activism it inspired, are at least partly responsible for the deep ecology movement, and the overall strength of the grassroots environmental movement since the 1960s.

Rachel Carson 100th birthday

Effect of Global warming on Health

Over the past two decades the issue of global warming have gain attention in both the political and social media. the raise in sea levels, global temperature change and nature disasters have catch the attention of ordinary people outside of science and politics.

Scientists and politicians are divided over the cause of global warming and solutions to the problem. some scientists and politicians do not believe that global warming exist or is the cause of climate change. other science and political leaders strongly believe that the problem of our world today is cause by global warming and there is a need to do something to save the planet before it is too late.

Who cause global warming? this is a question that is difficult to answer as both pros and anti environmentalist shifts blame to human activities or the nature cycle of the earth. whether global warming is cause by human activities or not, there is a clear need to do something to stop the process.

Global warming is an international and global problem. global warming do not only affect the country or person that cause it, it also affect ordinary population in all regions of the war.

Drought is one of the negative attribute of global warming. farmers around the world are finding it difficult to grow crops. There is a global food crisis due to the lack of enough water for farmers and the low yield of farm products. On the east coast of Africa millions of people suffer and millions of children and women die of starvation. food is very essential for the human body. it promote good health and enable the body to grow strong and fight against invading diseases. As the earth temperature continue to increase, streams, creeks, and rivers dry up and put thousands of population at risk of access to clear and save drinking water. Lack of save drinking water create a lot of complicated health problems. Everyday thousands of women and children die due to water related illness.

Whatever side of the table you stand on this issue, it is clear that the earth is experiencing some extreme temperature increase and unprecedented natural disaster.

Flood In West Africa

Flood unlike many other nature disasters is a constant occurrence in West African nations. Most Nations in West Africa lies along the equator. These nations have mainly two season, the rain season and the dry season. each season run approximately six months.

During the last few months of the rain season between July to September is the most disastrous time for people along rivers in West Africa. Most of those affected are poor people that squat along the river banks in big cities for hope of better living conditions. Every year a lest 200 people die due to flood and most of the victims are poor women and children.

Most of the deaths and suffering related to flood come at the aftermath of the flood. Poor sanitation and hygiene contribute to communicable diseases like cholera and diarrhea. Flooding destroy the food source of families as a result children and women become malnourished.

One of the major cause of flooding in West Africa is the lack of adequate infrastructural to control the over flow of water across the the banks of rivers and the lack of proper sewage system to control the flow of rain water and city waste.

The 2012 rain season was one of the worst in the recent history of Nigeria. heavy rain at the end of August and the beginning of September led to serious floods in most parts of the country. The heavy rain fall at the end of Septermber lead to overflow the destroyed river banks and infrastructure, loss of property and livestock and flash floods in many areas (reliefweb 2012). By 29 September  reliefweb reported that the floods had affected 134,371 people, displaced 64,473, injured 202 and killed 148 people.

Flooding do not only have physical impact on a nation and its people. Flood have a strong negative impact on people ranging from the increase in the mosquito population which lead to malaria, destruction of water and food source which lead to cholera and malnutrition. The worst of all is the mental health associated with the destruction of home and property and the feeling of starting over and a new life. 

ref: http://reliefweb.int/disaster/fl-2012-000138-nga

Water Changes Everything

Water is one of  the most abandon natural resources on earth. About 70 percent of the world is cover with water, but 97 percent of water sources are salt water. Only 3 percent of the earth water is available for drinking.

The 3 percent of safe drinking water are not evenly distributed around the globe. Different geographic regions have different access to water. Today about 800 millions people lack access to save drinking water. Most of those people are located in developing nations in Africa and South East Asia.

Water is the most environmental problem and major concern because water changes everything. Access to safe and clean drinking water changes the life of people in every aspect of their day to activities. Access to Clean water control the health status, education, family, and economic of individual household.

This video " Water Changes Everything " explain the important of clean water and how our access to this natural resources change our life. The water problem is a universal problem and is the biggest environmental concern of our time. If we can solved this problem we can save women and children from death from preventable water related diseases, provide women and children the opportunity to go to school and get education so that they can contribute to the economic of the family and nation. A healthy citizen make a healthy nation and healthy nations make a health and more productive universe.