As promised, we spread around some of your money at year's end to agencies and organizations we felt were doing really good things. For example, as a direct result of your support in December, we were able to contribute nearly $1000 to PATH and AIDS Project L.A.- solely from purchases of our HIV designs. For a list of this year's donations and fundraising collaborations,all reflecting a portion of sales in 2005, feel free to visit: www.iawareables.com/aboutus/charity.htm

And don't forget www.charitynavigator.org if you want to scope out the "effectiveness of mission" for major charities.

No, this is not Japanese for "yup," or "prepare to die, samaurai!" HAIs, in the parlance of the infection control community, stands for "healthcare-acquired infections." It's a term you're going to be hearing more about as this simmering issue comes to a boil. Down and dirty estimates by the Institute of Medicine: 98,000 deaths due to "adverse medical events"(don't ask); 2,000,000 annual HAIs in the U.S, alone! [Think. . ."Well, gollee. . .I was better off BEFORE they treated me!"] The good news is that there appears to be a new sheriff in town,in the form of the "100,000 Lives Campaign," a project of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and it promises to have positive implications for us all.

We'll be bringing you more info on this national initiative in future EBornes. It's an extremely complex and d-i-d (devil-in-detail) issue, involving pesky attitude and behavior modification. In the meantime, you have to love the 100,000 Lives campaign slogan:

"SOME IS NOT A NUMBER. SOON IS NOT A TIME." Works for us.

[Thanks to Kelly Pyrek,Editor-in-Chief of Infection Control Today journal, March 2006, for her skilled and thoughtful presentation. If you can't wait for more details, visit www.infectioncontroltoday.com]

[While you're there, check out the "Pandemicals" section. More ruminations from the iAwareables inmates. www. infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/631pande.html ]

Great!! Not only do we have to worry about HAIs, now now have to be serious about CAIs (community- acquired infections). Some of the nasties that previously hung exclusively in hospital environments, now are spilling out into the 'hoods. More on this in future editions; but here is an example of a local market attempting to do its part (market baskets have been found to have the highest rate of bacterial colony forming units in community areas - including the home).

Most health care professionals agree that the best and brightest hope to eradicate disease is through immunization and the development of new and effective vaccines. Imagine what our lives would be like without protection from polio, diptheria, tetanus, influenza, measles, et al. Unfortunately, development of vaccines slowed to snail's pace following the sky is falling, swine flu fiasco in 1976; lack of profit incentive and fear of litigation hasn't helped.

There does appear to be action on this front, however, with science and pharma working feverishly to develop vaccines for Avian flu, HIV, Malaria and a host of others. Even an Ebola virus vaccine is in human trials, at this time. Innovative methods of delivery such as sprays and - yum - edibles, promise to make for easier compliance. BTW, for the kids, you might want to check in to the new rotavirus vaccination, shown to prevent life-threatening cases of capital D. Adults. . .probably a good idea to ramp up your ancient Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination. We've seen the wheezer up close, and it's not pretty.

As a last resort, you might simply tie on one of our Vaccinia (smallpox vaccine) neckties or scarves. Images courtesy of friends at the CDC, featuring two slices of the virus highlighted by the bifurcated needle used in the pokey process. Colorful, safe and guaranteed pain-free.

One of our Awareophiles sent us news about a report seen recently on ABC News. "Fast-Food Ice Dirtier Than Toilet Water," describes 12 year-old Jasmine Roberts' science project in which she gathered both ice and toilet water samples from five restaurants in South Florida. She then sent the samples off to be analyzed by laboratories at the local university. Holy coli, sure enough, the toilet water coming from sanitized city water supplies tested cleaner than the H2O from the ice machines- many of which tested positive for E.you-know-what-i. Best guess is that the ice machines weren't at the tippy top of cleaning priorities (ever?) and that workers tended to use unwashed hands to do their scooping. Which rhymes with. . . .?

May have to give up that ice-chewing habit.

Hypodermic needles do not make for fun times, at least for most of us. Adding insult to sharp-o-phobia, we're now being told that needles probably should be LONGER, else their therapeutic load may fall shy of the target. According to a study done in Dublin, Ireland, standard 1 1/4 inch needles failed to reach the bulls-eye buttock muscle in 23 of 25 women, making for a lot of medicine frittered away in fat. This means that most of the test patients ended up with less than optimal dosages of meds that are typically administered rearly. There's also the question of what mischief the shortfall might cause while bubbling up in fat tissue. Guys...we can hope this is strictly a girl-thing!

Jack Snow played split end for the Los Angeles Rams for 11 years during the 1960's and '70's. At 6'2" and 210 pounds, he caught 340 passes for 6,012 yards, and had 45 touchdowns. He was fearless, his signature route taking him into the jaws of the defensive secondary, an open invitation to annhilation from all sides. More times than not, he held on to the football, challenging the big defensive bullies to shake his courage and skill. It never happened.

Jack Snow died on January 9, 2006, at the age of 62, from a resistant staph infection he had been battling for two months post-operative. Staph!! It's such a tiny little thing.

Antibodies, Fungal Frolics (mold) and other surprises. Outbreaks tentatively scheduled for mid-summer.

We've drastically cut back our travel schedule for 2006, currently planning only ICAAC (Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy), San Francisco, September; and APHA (American Public Health Association ), Boston, November. You'll need to keep a close eye on iAwareables.com - and these quarterly Ebornes- to stay on the infectious edge of scientific style.

In the meantime, Spring will soon be sprung. Behave yourselves! Or not. . .