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Dear friends and colleagues,
 So Fall is here, the sun has crossed the celestial equator, the holidays are approaching, and something called H1N1 is on us like...well, like flu! Only this time, it's got our attention. Are you ready for your annual flu-tation, this year including a nice bouillabaisse option, with a m�nage of avian, piggy and h. sapiens RNA? Not to worry, vaccines are on the way - unless, of course, you're over 65, in which case, your luck's run out and your only hope for a while is provided below. Enjoy this best of seasons; we'll be staying in touch heading into the holiday lather and blather.
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Visit the IA Showroom: A very cool bird's eye view of the complete
Awareables necktie and scarf collection, past and present:
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1. WHO YOU CALLING A SWINE?
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"Don't blame the pig!"
Pigs are getting a lot of heat these days. After all, they're credited with the title role in the new H1N1 Swine Flu 'demic dance of 2009. As a result of their new icon status, piggies and piggy-farming practices are under great scrutiny, some critics characterizing porker plants as breeding grounds for disease; others, disagreeing, pointing to special preventive conditions in the facilities. "You don't even wear your own underwear in these facilities," says an officer of the National Pork Board. This is starting to get ugly.
Not so our new H1N1 Swine Flu/RNA sartorially splendid design. Check out its scientific bona fides below.
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2. SWINE FLU / RNA YOU GOTTA LOVE!
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Due mid-October!  H1N1 is a unique RNA virus, combining genetic info from pigs, birds and yes, folks. . .us. Somehow we've managed to combine our mutual (very) personal chromo-data, concocting a novel recipe perfect for human transmission. The process sounds a lot like mutation to us, but we're told it's technically known as "reassortment," i.e. a kind of musical chairs amongst the strands that make up the viral genome. Our new Swine Flu/RNA design features an image of the H1N1 virus surrounded by individually colored RNA strands representing human, pig and avian donors. A fourth strand featuring all three colors, represents a combination into the unique H1N1 strain.
Click image to view Swine Flu Tie
Original H1N1 images courtesy of Cynthia Goldsmith and Amanda Balish, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
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3. BREAST CANCER: VIGILANCE
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AWARENESS NOT ALWAYS ENOUGH
Our new Breast Ca Vigilance scarf is now available. Our necktie design, creatively colored in navy and codepinks, and including a subtle reminder that awareness is just the beginning of the wellness process, will be available shortly.
Scarf now available
Click images to view Breast Cancer Scarf and Tie.
Original cell micrograph courtesy of the National Cancer Institute.
Tie due mid-October
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4. H.I.D.E. & S.E.E.K!� Eight Strategies
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 TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF INFECTION. NOW ON DVD
Infectious Awareables' award-winning production featuring common sense, consumer-oriented information on infection prevention is now available on DVD. As a bonus feature, we've included a short (4 min.) "Beat Germs" version, especially suitable for small children. H & S is being shown in thousands of private and public venues all over the world - now, more conveniently accessible in DVD format.
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5."BAD BUGS, NO DRUGS..." |
MRSA and the "ESKAPE" PATHOGENS WINNING THE DRUG WAR
 Four years after the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) drew attention to the shortage of effective drugs to treat the most drug resistant bacteria, it appears little progress has been made. Only a small number of drugs have been approved for the best known of these threats, MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staph aureus), and most are IV only, not to mention toxic for many patients. Worse yet, resistance is already beginning to emerge to even these few. Little hope is on the immediate horizon for effective treatment of the other five ESKAPE pathogens, which along with MRSA, are responsible for two-thirds of all healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). They include species from: Enterococcus, Staph, Klebsiella, Acineobacter, Pseudomonas, and Enterobacter (ESKAPE). These bacteria often attack the most vulnerable among us, including burn victims and patients in intensive-care units IDSA has urged Congress to pass the Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance (STAAR) Act, designed to improve research, surveillance, and prevention of antimicrobial-resistant germs. How long do you think that might take? In the meantime, here is our own re-minted anti-microbial, a handsome new color combo for our best selling MRSA design. Available also in Bows and XLs, as are most of our designs. Click image to view MRSA Tie. http://www.idsociety.org/STAARAct.htm Reported by Virgo Publishing, 2008, publisher of Infection Control Today Magazine.
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6. IN MEMORIAM: DR. JOEL D. WEISMAN
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WARNED OF A NEW THREAT - TO BE KNOWN AS AIDS
Dr. Joel Weisman was a general practitioner in Sherman Oaks, California, when in 1980 he noted a striking similarity in unusual symptoms among three seriously ill patients. All had drastic weight loss, rashes, fevers, and swollen lymph nodes. All patients were gay, and their symptoms appeared to be related to their immune systems.
Dr. Weisman referred two of the patients to UCLA immunologist, Martin S. Gottlieb, who recognized similarities in symptoms with one of his current patients. Weisman and Gottlieb then wrote a report for the June 5, 1981 Centers for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, effectively launching the official start of the epidemic later named "acquired immunodeficiency syndrome," or AIDS.
The report reverberated around the world. In the years to come, Dr. Weisman pressed for services to the HIV and AIDS patient, and was founding chairman of the AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1983. He spent much of his career as an active ambassador for AIDS awareness and understanding.
A pioneer in the recognition of this global tragedy, Dr. Weisman's contribution to the world's awareness of HIV and AIDS cannot be overstated. Note: unknown to us, Dr. Weisman practiced medicine about 10 minutes from the Infectious Awareables office.
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7. MEETING SCHEDULE 2009
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November 7 -11, 2009. American Public Health Association (APHA). Philadelphia. We expect to see you there!
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GO AHE AD, ENJOY THE FALL FOLIAGE IF YOU MUST. IT'S ALWAYS SUMMER OUT HERE - WE GET ABOUT FOUR LEAVES TO FALL SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER. NOT EXACTLY A SPLASH OF COLOR - BUT THEN AGAIN, WE NEVER SHOVEL. HIDE THE CHILDREN AS WE STALK FOR TURKEYS NEXT MONTH...
Awareably yours,
RPF
Roger P. Freeman, D.D.S. and the IA Team
Copyright 2009 Infectious Awareables, Inc.
Please feel free to pass this Ezine along to your friends. All we ask is that you keep it intact and forward it in its entirety.
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Email:
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Phone:
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Web: www.iawareables.com |
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