Our new Vaccine design will be available mid-October, a reminder of the importance of yearly vaccinations.  It also serves as a visual reminder of the importance of comprehensive vaccination schedules, from MMR to Shingles, covering both the young and the not-so-young.  As for Swine Flu, while it has abated, it is not gone, nor have the multitudes of other strains that threaten young and old alike.  Our IA design captures the process of vaccine creation and  immunization in dramatic form, using the influenza virus as subject.   Watch for it soon.

This year's influenza's vaccine will include three different strains, including the H1N1 pandemic virus.  The CDC advises that between 5% and 20% of the American population develops influenza annually, resulting in over 200,000 hospitalizations and about 36,000 (*see below) deaths!  Spread it around; make sure the family's protected.  

** Note: The CDC reports that the actual numbers of deaths from influenza varies widely, per year - as low as 3,300 to nearly 50,000 in the last 30 years.  "There is no average flu season," says Dr. David Shay of CDC's National Center for Immunization.  The number of deaths "can vary dramatically" from year to year, the most important factor being the particular strain of flue predominating in the season.  The 36,000 figure above was an average for the decade of the 1990's, when H3N2 predominated in most years.

According to some recent studies, C. difficile has surpassed methicillin-resistant Staph aureus as the most prevalent HAI (hospital acquired infection) in hospitals.  C. difficile is a spore-forming bacterium that can be part of the normal intestinal flora, but can also turn ugly when given a chance by an altered environment.   C.difficile-associated disease (CDAD) occurs when the normal flora is changed, by antibiotic use for example, causing serious and difficult-to-control gastro-intestinal symptoms.  By forming spores, C. diff presents a difficult infection control challenge, with its tough outer shell resistant to all but the most stringent infection control methods. (It scoffs at alcohol-based hand rubs).   Meticulous physical removal appears to be the best intervention for this interloper, which is shed in stool, and can remain on environmental surfaces for some time.  Person-to-person transmission is common, made more problematic by the sticky surface of the spore that resists many of the common hand-hygiene products.

We don't take sides in the superbug supremacy race: we have 'em both (figuratively, that is).   Our MRSA (designed in collaboration with the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics) and C. diff items are understated and elegant, made to satisfy the most demanding sartorial challenges. In fact, they're hard to resist...

Staph/MRSA Scarf (click image or here to view)   
Staph/MRSA Tie (click image or here to view)   
Clostridium difficile Tie (click image or here to view)

A research study done at Iowa State University's Department of Chemistry reported that the first signs of prion formation (prions are the wayward proteins that contribute to mad cow and associated brain diseases)could be detected in an animal's retina as a result of interpreting a spectropscopic signature indicative of neurological disease. In the study, a beam of light produced a characteristic "glow" from the light sensitive tissue lining the eye of sheep infected with scrapie, a close relative of "mad cow" disease. 

We personally don't get close enough to cows, unless in ribeye form and accompanied by a baked potato, to detect neurological issues.  And you have to wonder how comfortable a cow's going to feel with all these white-coat humans staring into their eyes.   Fortunately, by sporting an IA "mad cow" design, people will mostly be looking at your neckwear.  The cows?  You're on your own!

Dr. Robert M. Chanock, a virologist, was responsible for a remarkable series of discoveries about infectious disease, among which were:  identifying "walking pneumonia;" isolating the deadly respiratory syncytial virus and four para-influenza viruses; laying the foundation for discovery of Hepatitis B and its vaccine; playing a key role in isolating the Norwalk virus, (seen commonly on cruise ships today); and pioneering the development of the nasal spray influenza vaccine.  Dr. Chanock at one time worked with Dr. Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine, who once called him "my star scientific son." 

A colleague at National Institutes of Health wrote of Dr. Chanock that "never in the history of infectious disease research has one person developed so much definitive information about the causes of so much human disease in so short a period of time."

Next time you take a cruise, you can thank Dr. Chanock for all the precautions now being taken by ship's crew to save you from a nasty bout with your G-I tract.  An amazing body of work, another unsung hero.

We're online all-the-time, up-to-date and current. 

After 12 years of brochures, we've finally gone "paperless."  Our design inventory has become  so pandemic, it's simply become too difficult to stay current in print.  So stay in touch with us at iAwareables.com, where the sun never sets.

For the first time in 13 years, we will not be attending APHA in the fall.  We'll miss our many friends and colleagues in Denver, but will hope to reconnect in Washington D.C., 2011