We're excited to announce our collaboration with the California Family Health Council. We'll be working with CFHC to help develop products promoting greater awareness of all things safe and sensible, especially relating to teens and families. Over the next months, we'll debut striking HPV scarves, along with very kool "Be Safe" caps and yes, they're baaaaack...boxers! More on these next EBorne NL, but in the meantime, consider....

A new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that at least ONE IN FOUR TEENAGE GIRLS IN THE U.S. HAS A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTION. GASP! This translates to about 3.2 million girls ages 14-19, 18% of whom are infected with papilloma virus (HPV). Seems to us that regardless of the politics, availability of the new vaccine makes the "conversation" a prime time chat. Our pending HPV "Have the Conversation" scarf could help open up the comm line in style:

Seems we never seem to run out of new and pesky microbes to annoy and, oh yes, kill some folks. Clostridium difficile is a highly contagious bacterium that lives in the gut of about 3% of healthy adult humans. Overgrowth causes production of a toxin which can lead to colitis, inflammation and bleeding in the large intestine. We'll leave it at that for now, but you get the idea - a serious threat to one's, mmm. . .regularity, not to mentiion mortality. Nice looking bunch under the 'scope, even nicer on silk - not good at all in situ. And because C.diff is an encapsulated "spore," it's a real bugger to get rid of! Watch for incoming contagious and coolacious cravat this summer!

Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart's electrical system short circuits, causing it to suddenly sputter instead of pump. AED's (automated electronic defibrillators) provide a jump start to the chaotic quivering muscle, restoring normal heart rhythms. You've probably seen these devices posted increasingly in public facilities - at airports, parks, health clubs et al. The guidelines developed by major heart organizations call for use of the AED within 2 minutes of arrest, statistics indicating a 10% reduction in survival rate for each minute defibrillation is delayed.

So where is your best chance of survival should your heart "break"(in the electrical sense)? According to the New England Journal of Medicine, try to have your cardiac arrest in a casino or airport, where there is high visability, accessability and lots of trained personnel. On the other hand, you may want to avoid letting your ventricles fibrillate in small hospitals, especially on weekends or in the evenings. Lots of extenuating circumstances, of course, but it's always nice to have a plan.

Check out our new MRSA Giant Microbe plushy. Much cuter in GM form, these clever critters are great reminders of the importance of both personal hygiene and judicious use of antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus has become a critical public health issue in both healthcare and,increasingly, in community settings. The hangtag on the GM provides an especially good description of the threat and how best to avoid a confrontation with this nasty "superbug."

MRSA GIANT MICROBE

After decades of (over)premedication prior to dental treatment to prevent infective endocarditis in patients with a myriad of special heart conditions, the AHA (American Heart Association), with input from the ADA (American Dental Association), has revised its guidelines to limit recommendations for antibiotic coverage to high risk patients only. This would include those with artificial heart valves, problematic heart transplants and other very specific conditions. No longer is premedication recommended for many common cardiac conditions, such as mitral valve prolapse. Consult with your D.D.S. to be sure he/she is on top of this important change.

You can check out the new guidelines at: http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/topics/infective_endocarditis.asp

"Up to 600 million cases and more than 2 million deaths are caused by P. falciparum...malaria annually. Substantially less than 10% of these cases are reported officially.". . . (Breman, et al. Am.J.Trop.Med.Hyg 77(Suppl 6) 2007, pp vi-xi).

We were honored to work recently with the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, in their efforts to thank authors included in the recent Supplement to The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene on the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria. Many will be proudly sporting the IA Malaria neckwear as a small token of appreciation for their significant contributions.

MALARIA NECKTIE, SCARF

OUR OFFICES, INCLUDING SHIPPING DESK WILL BE CLOSED AND OTHERWISE ABANDONED FROM 4/3 - 4/23. ALL ORDERS RECEIVED DURING THAT TIME WILL BE LOVINGLY FULFILLED AND CEREMONIOUSLY SHIPPED ON 4/24. OH, JUST GET OVER IT ;)

ASM American Society for Microbiology; Boston, MA; June 2 -4.

APHA American Public Health Association; San Diego, CA; Oct 25-29.

Be there, no excuses!