Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology
  4. Volume 25
Journal Home
Refine listing

Refine listing

Access:
Publication date:
Topic: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×
< Back to all issues

Volume 25 - October 2004

Contents

Page 1 of 14

Medical News

  • Quality Improvement Program Reduces Nosocomial Infections in the Intensive Care Unit

  • Gina Pugliese, Martin S. Favero
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, p. 524
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Other

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

  • Chickenpox and Pneumonia Following Varicella Vaccine

  • Ghan-Shyam Lohiya, Lilia Tan-Figueroa, Sherry Marshall
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, pp. 530-531
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Letters to the Editor

  • Legionella Pneumonia: Experience in a Community Teaching Hospital

  • Obi Okoye, Manhal Tannous, Raja Shekar, Keyvan Ravakhah
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, p. 1014
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Editorial

  • Prion Inactivation and Medical Instrument Reprocessing: Challenges Facing Healthcare Facilities

  • Lynne M. Sehulster
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, pp. 276-279
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Editorial

  • Volume 25: An Important Milestone Despite Continuing Infection Control Challenges

  • Barry M. Farr
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, pp. 7-9
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Letters to the Editor

Editorial

  • How're We Doin'? Preventing Occupational Infections With Blood-Borne Pathogens in Healthcare

  • David K. Henderson
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, pp. 532-535
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Medical News

  • Risk Factors for Surgical-Site Infections After Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery

  • Gina Pugliese, Martin S. Favero
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, p. 524
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Editorial

  • Gram-Negative, Hospital-Acquired Infections: A Growing Problem

  • Lennox K. Archibald
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, pp. 809-811
    • Article
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • Export citation

Letters to the Editor

Original Articles

  • Infectivity of Prion Protein Bound to Stainless Steel Wires: A Model for Testing Decontamination Procedures for Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies

  • Zheng-xin Yan, Lothar Stitz, Peter Heeg, Eberhard Pfaff, Klaus Roth
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    02 January 2015, pp. 280-283
  • Objectives:

    To establish an animal model to study transmissible spongiform encephalopathy using hamsters and steel wires contaminated with infectious brain materials as transfer vehicles, and, based on this model, to test decontamination procedures against the infectious prion proteins on the steel wires as a near real situation bioassay.

    Design:

    Infectious brain materials were given to healthy hamsters intracerebrally either as a suspension or as dried materials on the surface of steel wires. The animals were observed for 18 months. During this period, animals showing definitive clinical signs were euthanized. Decontamination studies were performed by reprocessing contaminated steel wires with different disinfection agents and procedures before implantation.

    Results:

    Pathological prion proteins were able to bind to the steel wires and caused disease after the contaminated wires were implanted in the brains of hamsters. When the contaminated wires were treated with different reprocessing procedures before implantation, infectivity was reduced, which was manifested directly by prolonged survival time of the test animals. These results show that this model can be used as a bioassay to validate reprocessing procedures for surgical instruments.

    Conclusions:

    At the time of submission of this article, only the group of hamsters incubated with wires reprocessed with an alkaline detergent, followed by sterilization with a modified cycle in a hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilizer (4 injections), showed no clinical signs of disease and remained alive. Two animals from the group receiving sodium hydroxide followed by autoclaving (at 134° C for 18 minutes) died. Furthermore, the tested enzymatic cleaning agent seemed to have no positive effect.

Page 1 of 14