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At Pinnacle Specialist Cleaning services we have a great deal of experience in dealing with the elimination and prevention of many dangerous Bacteria strands and viruses in Infection Control Outbreak Situations
For details of some of the dangerous viruses that we believe can be the most common in infection control situations Click Here.
In this area of the site we aim to bring you as much information as possible on some of the dangerous Bacteria strands that we believe are the most common in most infection control situations. Please see full details below:
Ecoli is short for Escericia coli- bacteria that cause severe cramps and diarrhoea. The symptoms of Ecoli are worse in children or older people and are especially in people who have another illness. Most Ecoli infections come from eating undercooked ground beef , drinking contaminated water,drinking unpasteurized milk and working with cattle. The most common way to get this infection is by eating contaminated food. You can be infected with the E.coli germ if you don't use a high temperature to cook your beef or if you don't cook it long enough.
Any patient infected by E.coli will usually experience symptoms within 3 to 4 days after being exposed to the bacteria however in some cases they may appear within a day or a week later. Symptoms of E.Coli include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea vomiting, fever and fatigue. There are a few tips to hep prevent E.coli theses include cooking meat well, washing vegetables thoroughly, washing cutlery and crockery, Store foods separately ( for example using separate cutting boards and do not store ground beef next to other foods) and practicing good hand hygiene.
Salmonella germs have been known to cause illness for over 100 years. Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhoea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days and most people recover without treatment, however in severe cases hospital treatment may be necessary. The elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.
Salmonella is usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal faeces. Contaminated food usually looks and smells normal. Contaminated foods are often of animal origin such as beef, poultry,milk or eggs but any food including vegetables may become contaminated. Thorough cooking kills salmonella. Food may also become contaminated by the hands of someone preparing the food if they don't follow good hygiene.
Legionnaires disease is a potentially fatal lung infection that is caused by legionella bacteria. Legionnaires disease is caused by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water. Legionnaires is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person.The symptoms of legionnaires disease can begin anytime from two to 19 days after exposure to the initial reaction. However six to seven days is the most common time between getting the infection and the onset of the symptoms.
Symptoms usually begin with the initial phase that lasts one or two days in which you experience mild headaches and muscle pain. This can be followed by a set of more severe symptoms including high fever, more severe muscle pains, chills, tiredness and changes to your mental sate including confusion. Once the bacteria has infected your lungs you may also experience a persistent cough, shortness of breath and chest pains. Some people with legionnaires disease also have symptoms that infect the digestive system including sickness diarrhoea and loss of appetite.
The best way to prevent an outbreak of legionnaires disease is to ensure that any water system under your control is properly maintained and conforms to the relevant health and safety regulations. The two most important factors for preventing an outbreak of legionnaires disease are Temperature- any water in the system should be cooled to below 20 degrees or heated to above 60 degrees . Hygiene - The water should be kept free of any impurities and never allowed to stagnate.
Listeriosis is an infection that usually develops after eating food that has been contaminated by bacteria called listeria monocytogenes which is commonly known as listeria. In most people listeriiosis is mild and causes flu like symptoms or vomiting and diarrhoea. The time it takes for symptoms of listeriosis to develop after an initial listeria infection can vary considerably from one to 90 days. The average incubation time is around 30 days. Most cases of listeria infection are limited to the digestive system.
The main symptoms of Listeria include high temperature,muscle pain, chills, sickness and diarrhoea. When the infection spreads to the blood or nervous system the symptoms of fever muscle pain and chills tend to be more severe. If the infection spreads to the nervous system and brain additional symptoms can include severe headaches, stiff neck, changes in mental state such as confusion,seizures, lack of physical co-ordination, uncontrollable shaking or twitching. If listeriosis spreads to the brain it can cause meningitis.
The best ways to prevent listeriosis infection is to always ensure that you follow good basic food hygiene including: Always peel raw vegetables, salads or fruit and wash them thoroughly before eating,Separating raw foods from ready to eat food in storage, wash your hands thoroughly before preparing and eating food, especially after preparing raw meat poultry and eggs. The listeria bacteria can be found in a wide range of chilled ready to eat foods including pre packed sandwiches, Butter, pate, soft cheese, soft blue cheese, cooked sliced meats and smoked salmon.
MRSA is a type of bacterial infection that is resistant to a number of widely used antibiotics. This means that it can be more difficult to treat than other bacterial infections. The full name of MRSA is Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus also known as staphy , It is often carried on the skin, inside the nostrils and the throat and can cause mild infections of the skin such as boils or impetigo. If the staph bacteria get into a break in the skin they can cause infections such as blood poisoning or endocarditis (an infection of the inner lining of the heart).
MRSA infections are more common in people who are in hospitals or nursing homes. Hospital patients are more at risk of MRSA because they often have an entry point for the bacteria to get into their body such as surgical wounds, burns or intravenous drips, They are usually older or weaker which makes them vulnerable to infection, They are usually surrounded by a large number of people which means bacteria can spread easily.
The symptoms of MRSA infection will depend on what part of the body is infected for skin and soft tissue MRSA infections the common symptoms are boils and abscesses and cellulitis. If the MRSA bacteria penetrates deeper inside your body or into your blood they can cause serious infections including high temperature,chills dizziness, confusion, muscular pains and aches.
Clostridium difficile (c. difficile) are bacteria that are present naturally in the guy of two thirds of children and 3 percent of adults. C. difficile does not cause any problems in healthy people. However some antibiotics that are used to treat other health conditions can interfere with the balance of good bacteria in the gut. When this happens C.difficile bacteria can multiply and produce toxins (poisons) which cause illness such as fever and diarrhoea. Common symptoms of C.difficile include mild to severe diarrhoea,blood stained stools, fever and cramps in the abdomen. These symptoms are usually caused by inflammation of the large intestine. In rare cases C.difficile can cause an infection of the lining of the abdomen, blood poisoning and tears in the large intestine.
C.difficile bacteria can spread easily particularly in a health care environment such as hospitals and care homes but there are steps to follow to try and prevent the spread of bacteria for people visiting a person in a health care environment always wash your hands with soap water when entering and leaving wards, Avoid health care environments if you are feeling unwell and observe all visiting guidelines.
There are also practices that healtcare workers can follow to stop the spread of the C.Difficile infection in a health care environment including wearing disposable gloves and aprons when caring with a patient that has the C.Difficile infection, wherever possible allowing these patients to have their own room and toilet facilities to avoid spreading the infection. Staff, Patients and Visitors should be encouraged to wash their hands regularly with soap water and all the surfaces around the infected patient should be cleaned thoroughly with water and a cleaning product containing bleach.
For details of dangerous viruses that can be common in infection control situations Click Here.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness.
COVID-19 ( also known as SARS-CoV-2 ) is one of seven types of coronavirus, including the ones that cause severe diseases like Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The other coronaviruses cause most of the colds that affect us during the year but aren’t a serious threat for otherwise healthy people.
The best way to prevent and slow down transmission and protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol based rub frequently and not touching your face.
The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).