The recently emerged swine flu is a mutation of the flu virus, created from a mix of bird flu, swine flu and human flu strains. To date, the virus has infected hundreds of people in Mexico, where it appears to have originated and continues to spread rapidly across the globe. Officials in the U.S. and around the world continue to confirm cases daily and as a precautionary measure, governments in United States, Canada and the European Union have advised people to avoid all non-essential travel to Mexico.   The virus is spread between humans.   However, the full extent of its threat is still unclear. Influenza is always serious – each year, in the United States, seasonal influenza results, on average, in an estimated 36,000 dying from flu-related causes. This swine outbreak certainly poses the potential to be at least as serious as seasonal flu if not more so. Because this is a new virus, most people will not have immunity to it and so illness may be more severe and widespread as a result.
 
The potential for the swine flu to become a global pandemic underscores the need for individuals to work towards reducing its spread.  “By taking steps to prevent the spread of flu viruses, each of us can help protect the health of our families, our friends and our communities,” says Chris Wiant, Chair of the Water Quality & Health Council. “Reducing risks can be as simple as washing your hands, covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and disinfecting household surfaces with chlorine bleach solution.”
 
The Water Quality & Health Councils offers information on healthy practices to reduce risks including:
 

• Take simple precautions. Maintain a healthy lifestyle, get a flu shot and stay informed.
   
• Practice good hygiene.  Make a habit of frequent hand washing and use sanitizers when hand washing isn’t convenient.  Avoid touching or rubbing of one’s nose and mouth to one’s hands and minimal person-to-person contact such as hand shaking and hugging are all helpful to limit the spread of virus.
   
• Take extra precautions when someone in the home is sick with the flu. Clean and disinfect household surfaces such as telephones, door knobs and hand rails.  Do not share computers, pens, papers, clothes, bedding, food or eating utensils with those who are ill. Wash hands prior to and immediately after contact with a sick person. Thoroughly dry hands with a paper towel and use it to turn off the faucet, then dispose of it.
   
• When in public, avoid touching hand rails on escalators, stairways door knobs or door pulls in public buildings or in public transportation. These sites readily become contaminated and are contacted by very large numbers of people.
   
• If you are sick, stay at home and avoid public settings.

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Did You Know....?

• 97% of the water on earth is in the oceans

• Only 3% of the water on earth is freshwater

• About 2.4% of the water on earth is permanently frozen in glaciers and at the polar ice caps

• About 1/2 of 1 % of the water on earth is groundwater

• Only about 1/100 of 1% of the water on earth is in the rivers and lakes

• It takes 39,090 gallons of water to make a new car, including the tires

• Over 17,000,000 houses in the US use private wells for their drinking water supply

• A person can live about a month without food, but can live only about 1 week without water

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Potential Spread of MRSA 'Super Bug' Found in Beach Sand

The MRSA “superbug” which is commonly found in hospitals is increasingly appearing at beaches, both in ocean water and sand. Research conducted by Dr. Lisa Plano of the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine and presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science warns that people who do not shower before and after swimming in the ocean could potentially be at risk of attracting the antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the strain of bacteria that can cause staph infections.

While scientists know that staph can spread in water, Plano’s research shows for the first time that MRSA can be found at the beach both in sea water and potentially on sand. Data from the research shows that it is plausible that many of the MRSA cases found at the beach originate elsewhere on people’s skin and then are spread while swimming and sunbathing. Plano also notes that this problem does not exist in municipal and most private pools if appropriate chlorine levels are maintained.

Dr. Plano admits there is a tremendous amount of work that still needs to be done to understand the threat of exposure to staph at the beach, but people should be aware of the potential risks. Showering before and after going in the water and avoiding the beach if you have an open wound are recommendations to enjoy time at the beach.

To read the full article, please visit:
http://www.livescience.com/health/090213-beach-superbugs-mrsa.html

Latest from International Ozone Association

(see Useful Links IO3A emblem on left panel)

Ozone Kills MRSA “Super Bugs”
Scottsdale, AZ -- Sanitizing towels, linens, and surfaces with ozonated water has been shown to be extremely effective in the reduction of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria and its more drug-resistant and harder to treat strain known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is spreading rapidly in the US population.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that in 2005, 94,000 people contracted serious, or invasive, staph infections and 19,000 of them died; rates three times the previous estimates.
Both staph and MRSA can cause more-serious skin infections or they can lead to pneumonia, or infections of the bloodstream, ear, urinary tract, or the lining of the brain.
MRSA had nearly always been connected to health care but is now spreading into communities such as schools, athletic facilities, health clubs and hospitality industries at about 15 percent of MRSA cases in the United States per the CDC report.
CDC recommendations for preventing infections in the general public focus on good hygiene including regular and rigorous hand washing, showering, and not sharing towels, razors and other potentially contaminated items/surfaces with others. CDC advises that you always practice good hygiene, for example in health clubs, use a barrier such as clothing or a towel between your skin and shared equipment.
The CDC also recommend wiping down frequently contacted surfaces such as phones, stair banisters, desk tops, key boards, faucets, tubs, sinks, floors, toilets and shower stall surfaces before and after use.
Research and real world application studies conducted by members of the International Ozone Association (IOA), their customers and testing agencies have shown ambient temperature wash of laundry and surfaces with ozonated water to be effective at reducing pathogenic organisms including Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria and MRSA by up to 99.999999%.
In a 2006 paper presented at the International Ozone Association Conference in Arlington Texas, “Ozone in the Laundry Industry -- Practical Experiences in the United Kingdom”, Cardis, et. al. reported on comparative testing conducted by Microsearch Laboratories (UK) confirming that low temperature ozone wash is extremely effective at inactivating organisms typically found on garments, towels and linens from healthcare facilities”.
Ozone currently protects public health in drinking water and wastewater treatment and is proving to be a safe and effective antimicrobial, sanitizer and disinfectant in numerous commercial and industrial applications.

MRSA SuperBug

Hand-washing Program Cuts MRSA Infections and Demonstrates Change in Health Worker Compliance
It is generally recognized that stringent adherence to hand-washing is one of the most effective methods to reduce the transmission of infection in a hospital setting. The rise of infections from the bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has resulted in increased media attention and has brought the issue of hygiene compliance in a hospital setting under review.

USA Weekend recently highlighted a study conducted by the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management that examined the effectiveness of hand hygiene in preventing the transmission of MRSA. The Infection Control Department in partnership with the Patient Safety Committee initiated the Hand Hygiene Program at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Maryland with a goal of achieving greater than 90 percent compliance with hand hygiene. A strict protocol was implemented to remind employees and physicians about washing and cleaning hands. Hand hygiene teams or hand hygiene ‘champions’ were placed throughout the hospital to remind staff of the importance of this procedure.

The results of this three-year study found that the simple routine of hand hygiene works in the prevention of hospital-transmitted MRSA infections. The study found that MRSA infections at the medical center declined by 49 percent. The study also proved the effectiveness of implementing an ongoing, regimented campaign to actively engage physicians and staff to create a meaningful behavior change with respect to hygiene compliance. The program increased compliance amongst health care workers from about 40 percent to more than 90 percent.

To view the abstract or purchase the full study please visit: http://www.turner-white.com/jc/abstract.php?PubCode=jcom_apr09_hygiene

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World Water Crisis Underlies World Food Crisis
Water experts from around the globe gathered this week in Stockholm for World Water Week, an annual event coordinated by the Stockholm International Water Institute. This year's conference theme was "Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World with Special Focus on Sanitation" to keep with the UN declaration of 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation.

Experts at the opening session warned that the world's supplies of clean, fresh water cannot sustain today's "profligate" use and inadequate management, which have brought shrinking food supplies and rising food costs to most countries. As developing countries confront the first global food crisis since the 1970s as well as unprecedented water scarcity, a new 53 city survey presented at the conference by the International Water Management Institute indicates that 80 percent of those studied are using untreated or partially treated wastewater for agriculture.

In over 70 percent of the cities studied, more than half of urban agricultural land is irrigated with wastewater that is either raw or diluted in streams. Wastewater is most commonly used to produce vegetables and cereals, especially rice, according to this and other IWMI reports, raising concerns about health risks for consumers, particularly when they eat uncooked vegetables.

Few developing countries have official, enforceable guidelines for the use of wastewater in agriculture. As a result, though the practice may be theoretically forbidden or controlled, it is in fact "unofficially tolerated," the IWMI found.

The read the full article, please go to:
The Environment News Service http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-18-01.asp

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Cholera rears its ugly head in Zimbabwe - Ozone Disinfection is the Solution

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New Strain of  TB - Deadly!!

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a new and deadly strain of tuberculosis has killed 52 of 53 people infected in the last year in South Africa. The strain was discovered in the Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa, and is classified as extremely drug-resistant. WHO reports that drugs from two of the six second-line medicines that are routinely used as a last line of defense against the disease have been ineffective against the new strain.

Drug resistance is a common problem in tuberculosis treatment; however this new strain appears particularly virulent, according to health officials.

Tuberculosis is a respiratory illness spread via aerosol droplets expelled by people with active TB disease of the lungs when they cough or sneeze. Global health estimates are that approximately 2 billion people worldwide have latent tuberculosis infection.

WHO and a partnership group including the South African Medical Research Council and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are convening this month in South Africa to discuss the new strain in search of better ways to diagnose and treat it

If you have access to power (even 12Volt) then ozone control of airborne virus is the most effective (it’s far stronger/quicker than any other available means) and is the healthiest protective option for self and planet.

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In the Swimming Poo..l

Almost Half of Surveyed Americans Admit Unhygienic Pool Behavior
Do you know what’s in your public pool? Findings from a recent survey show that when it comes to public pools this summer, watch thy fellow swimmer closely! Rather than worry about the availability of lounge chairs, lockers, and food and beverages, swimmers should be thinking more about basic questions of pool water cleanliness.

According to a survey conducted by the Water Quality and Health Council, 84 percent of Americans believe their fellow swimmers participate in unhygienic pool behavior – and they may be right. In fact, almost half (47%) admit to one or more behaviors that contribute to an unhealthy pool.

Urinating in the pool? One in five say they’ve done it (17 percent) – and eight in ten (78 percent) are convinced their fellow swimmers are guilty. As far as showering goes – forget it. Roughly one third (35 percent) pass the shower without stopping and three quarters (73%) say their fellow swimmers fail to shower before swimming.

Why Worry? Despite strong doubts about their fellow swimmers, only a third (36%) say pool water cleanliness is top of mind when they head to the pool. At the same time, most (63%) are unaware of illnesses associated with swallowing, breathing, or having contact with contaminated pool water. In fact, less than one quarter consider the frequency of pool cleaning and chemical treatment (23%) and even less (16 %) think about chlorine levels to maintain clean pool water.

Unclean water can lead to recreational water illnesses (RWIs) – diarrhea, respiratory illness, and ear and skin infections. Children, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems can suffer from more severe illness if infected. According to the CDC, these illnesses are on the rise. Between 2005 and 2006, 78 outbreaks were reported in 31 states –the largest number of outbreaks ever in a two-year period. Close to 4,500 people were affected.

The Water Quality and Health Council urges summer swimmers to practice swimming habits. Look for water that's clean, clear and blue. Check for tiles that feel smooth and clean. Make sure there are no strong odors. Listen for pool cleaning equipment. Using your senses, and following the CDC’s six simple swimming steps will lead to a healthy and fun swimming summer.

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Bird 'Flu

According to a report recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of avian flu (H5N1) spreading via public drinking water and sewage systems is minimized, if not eliminated, through basic disinfection practices. The document, Review of Latest Available Evidence on Risks to Human Health through Potential Transmission of Avian Influenza (H5N1) Through Water and Sewage, examines the routes of entry of the avian influenza H5N1 virus into water and sewage, the persistence of the virus in the environment, and its possible routes of transmission to humans through water and sewage. The risk associated with selected exposure scenarios is examined and prevention and control measures, including chlorination and water boiling, are suggested.

Based on case studies and research reviews, the WHO outlines four (4) potential scenarios for environmental exposure to H5N1. They are:

• Consumption of virus-contaminated drinking water
• Recreational use of contaminated water
• Exposure to contaminated sewage or surface water
• Occupational exposure to infected animals or contaminated excrement

The report concludes that water supplies receiving treatment as recommended in the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality are considered unlikely to pose infection risk, even if infected waterfowl are present in source waters.

Cited in the study is the fact that influenza viruses are susceptible to disinfectants due to their structures. The introduction of chlorination or alternative disinfectant residuals into water distribution systems by authorities is considered necessary to managing risk. Additionally, WHO advises that in individual households where water safety is questionable, drinking water should undergo home chlorination (addition of bleach) or boiling to deactivate the virus.

If you have access to power (even 12Volt) then ozone treatment is the most effective (it’s far stronger/quicker) and healthiest option to avoid toxic affects of chlorine.

For a full reading of the WHO study, please go to:
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/emerging/h5n1background.pdf

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BOTTLED WATER IMPACTS
These figures for 2006 highlight the problems many associate with the production of plastic bottles of water in the United States.
•More than 25.5 billion plastic water bottles are sold each year in the US.•
•More than 17 million barrels of oil (not including fuel for transportation) were used in plastic bottle production.
•Bottling water produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.
•It takes approximately 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water.
•The total amount of energy used to produce, transport, refrigerate, and dispose of a plastic bottle of water may be as high as the equivalent of filling a 1 liter bottle one-quarter full of oil.
Source: Waste Management World, The Pacific Institute

The Bottle-Versus-the-Tap Debate

Consumers who spent $10 billion last year on bottled water think it's a better bet. But is it?
By Sally Squires, Special to The Times
Quenching thirst can be more complicated than taking a trip to the water fountain or turning on the kitchen tap.

Hundreds of bottled waters are sold in the United States. Some are touted to enhance athletic performance; others come flavored with fruit essence or are vitamin-fortified. There's even water with enough added caffeine to rival a strong cup of coffee. And for those who like exotic sources, there's bottled water from Fiji and Iceland.

Americans are so eager to lap up bottled water that it's second only to soft drinks as the leading beverage consumed in the United States, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp. In 2005, we spent $10.1 billion to drink nearly 8 billion gallons of bottled water — that's 26 gallons per person — and per gallon paid more for water than for gasoline.

So why ante up a buck or more for a bottle of water that costs less than a penny per glass from the tap?

People drink bottled water "for quality, safety and good taste," says Stephen Kay, vice president of communications at the International Bottled Water Assn., a group representing bottlers and distributors. "They're reaching for bottled water for hydration and refreshment."

Just don't count on any special health benefits. "There is no health advantage being gained by these drinks, although the flavor can increase your intake," says Scott Montain, a physiologist at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Mass.

Nor has bottled water been proved to be safer than tap water, although federal law requires it to be at least as safe. The Food and Drug Administration regulates bottled water as a food product, dictating ingredients, good manufacturing practices, labels and even official definitions for spring, artesian, mineral and other types of water. Various state regulations also apply to bottled water.

But a four-year study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, found major regulatory gaps. By the group's calculation, 60% to 70% of the bottled water sold in the United States — including carbonated water, seltzer, club soda, tonic water as well as flavored and fortified waters — is exempt from FDA bottled water standards.

"Even when bottled waters are covered by FDA's specific bottled water standards, those rules are weaker in many ways than EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] rules that apply to big-city tap water," the group found.

Big-city tap water is not allowed to contain fecal coliform bacteria and must be tested for these pathogens 100 times or more a month. But bottled water plants face no such regulation from the FDA and are required to test just once weekly. And while public water systems report their test results, "none of the bottled water test results have to be made public," says the Natural Resources Defense Council's Erik Olson.

The FDA examined the feasibility of asking bottled water companies to provide test results to the public and concluded "that it wasn't feasible," says the water association's Kay. But because bottled water is an FDA-regulated product, Kay says that if a product was "out of compliance it would not be available in the marketplace." Consumers who want to see test results "can contact the company directly," Kay says.

Independent tests show that some bottled waters don't contain what they claim. ConsumerLab.com analyzed four brands of vitamin water and found that only one — Propel Fitness Water — provided the amount of vitamins listed on its label.

From a body weight perspective, however, bottled water — or any water, for that matter — has a caloric edge when poured against soft drinks, sports drinks, juice and sweetened tea or coffee beverages.

University of North Carolina researchers have found that 20% of daily calories consumed by those age 2 and older come from beverages, and about half the excess calories consumed daily are from beverages, most of them with added sugar. Consumption of sugared beverages has climbed threefold from an average of 50 calories per day in 1977 to nearly 150 calories per day in 2001 — or enough to pile on about 15 pounds per year.

So water — bottled or from the tap — ranks as the drink of choice in a new beverage guidance system developed at the university.

Here's what else you need to know about water:

• How much water daily? Women need about nine cups of liquid daily, including drinking water, while men need about 13 cups. Coffee, tea, other beverages and water-filled foods, including fruit, vegetables, milk, soups and stews, can all count toward this total.

• Chilling improves taste. Whether you guzzle tap or bottled water, drink it cold for improved flavor.

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Tap & Bottled Water Wars
In the final analysis, the price is all that separates them
By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff

Inside the chic restaurant, Frederick A. Laskey was nervously pacing, wondering if he had made a mistake in coming.

The executive director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority had boasted that the ozone-infused tap water his agency had just started producing was every bit as good as the expensive bottled waters Americans are expected to spend $10 billion on this year.
But now his tough talk was being put to the test. The Globe was doing a lab analysis and a taste test comparing bottled and tap waters. Laskey, reluctantly, had agreed to participate in the blind taste test, but he acknowledged he was worried the test could end up embarrassing him.

Laskey confessed to his fellow tasters -- Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Boston Beer Co., the maker of Samuel Adams beer; Geoffrey Fallon, the sommelier at Les Zygomates Wine Bar & Bistro; and John McNabb, the research director at the environmental group Clean Water Action -- that his palate wasn't very sophisticated. ''I often drink wine with ice cubes," he said.
Koch looked up in mock horror. ''Don't tell me you drink light beer on the rocks," he said.
The taste-testers went to work, swirling the waters in their glasses, sloshing them around in their mouths, smelling them for odor, and holding them up to the light for inspection.

But no matter how hard they tried, the testers failed to detect any significant difference between the bottled and tap waters. The bottled waters came from as far away as the South Pacific island of Fiji and ranged in price from 79 cents to $6.82 a gallon. The MWRA water came straight out of a Milton tap or the public drinking fountain at the John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester and cost a half-cent a gallon.

''The differences were very slight, certainly not worth paying money for," Koch said.
Fallon, whose restaurant was hosting the taste test, gave a hesitant thumbs up to bottles A and C, which were the Fiji bottled water and Milton tap water. He gave an equivocal thumbs down to bottle D, which was Aquafina. PepsiCo Inc.'s Aquafina is water from the Ayer Water Department that is run through a rigorous purification process that includes adding the same ozone the MWRA is using.

Ozone, essentially electrified oxygen, destroys bacteria cells and also breaks down organic material that can affect the color and taste of water. By using ozone, the MWRA has been able to curb its use of chlorine and ammonia as primary disinfectants, although chlorine is still used as a secondary disinfectant as water travels through pipes to homes and businesses.
Swishing one of the water samples around in his mouth, Fallon said he thought he detected a slight nut flavor in bottle D (Aquafina) and a bit of an aftertaste in bottle B (Acadia spring water from Miscoe Springs in Mendon, which is sold by Stop & Shop). He said whatever differences existed were minor, if they existed at all.
''The differences I found could be there or they could totally not be there," Fallon said. ''Water is the purest of canvases that anything could affect."
McNabb said he thought he detected a hint of chlorine in the Acadia spring water. ''There were very slight differences, if at all, between the waters," he said. ''I wondered if I might be imagining them."
He probably was, since a lab test showed no chlorine residue in the Acadia water.
Laskey breathed a sigh of relief as the other taste testers, even those with more sophisticated palates than his, agreed that there was essentially no difference between bottled and tap water. ''It's reassuring," he said.
The Globe's lab tests, conducted by GeoLabs Inc. in Braintree and G&L Laboratories in Quincy, indicated there were some differences between the bottled and tap waters, but the differences in most cases were minimal.
The chief exception was a background bacteria test that found unusually high levels in the Fiji bottled water.
None of the five waters tested showed any trace of coliform bacteria, which can be an indicator of E. coli. But a heterotrophic plate count test, which indicates whether conditions are ripe for bacteria growth, showed Fiji water with an estimated 1,800 colony-forming units per milliliter. The recommended maximum is 500 colony-forming units.
Paul Tierney, director of the food protection program at the state Department of Public Health, said the higher level does not necessarily indicate a health risk, but possibly a sanitation problem at the bottling plant. He said tests by his agency have found levels as high as 2,500 in some bottled waters.
Heterotrophic plate count levels are sometimes higher in bottled waters that are not disinfected and exposed to higher temperatures before consumption.
Officials at Fiji water could not be reached for comment. The lab officials who conducted the tests for the Globe said they were confident of the results.
The three bottled waters -- Fiji, the Stop & Shop Acadia water, and Aquafina -- had no lead or residual chlorine. The tap waters from Milton and the JFK Library had trace amounts of both substances, but nothing of concern.
The tap waters also had more sodium than the bottled waters, just over 30 milligrams per liter. By contrast, the Stop & Shop Acadia water had 27.8 milligrams, the Fiji water had 18.5 milligrams, and Aquafina had just 1.13 milligrams.
State health officials recommend no more than 20 milligrams of sodium per liter, but the officials noted that water is usually not a major source of sodium in a person's diet.
One area where the bottled and tap waters differed sharply was price. The MWRA, which is essentially a wholesaler of water to nearly 60 Eastern Massachusetts cities and towns, charges the municipalities approximately two-tenths of a cent per gallon.
The prices charged to consumers by cities and towns vary. In Milton, the price is about a half-cent per gallon and in Boston it's roughly four-tenths of a cent per gallon.
The cheapest bottled water in the Globe's sample was the gallon jug of Acadia water from Stop & Shop, which sells for 79 cents. A 1.5-liter bottle of Fiji water sold for $2.29 at Stop & Shop, which works out to $5.77 a gallon.
The most expensive water in the Globe's sample was Aquafina. A 1.05-liter bottle sold for $1.79 at Stop & Shop, which works out to about $6.82 a gallon.