"E. coli Outbreak in Europe-STEC O104:H4-What It Means For You & Your Family" By Reverend Barbara Sexton "The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"

 courtesy: http://lci.tf1.fr/lexique/concombres-contamines-ce-qu-il-faut-savoir-6510062.html
UPDATE: 6/1/11  Be careful with what you hear on the news.  There are conflicting reports from various reporting agencies regarding either an increase or decrease in numbers of deaths and illness in the form of HUS from STEC O104:H4.  Reports thus far have been from 'unidentified and/or unsubstantiated sources' (and in the case of two alleged U.S. deaths from 'unidentified state sources).  Rest assured that once verifiable scientific data is available, Rev. Barbara Sexton will provide you with LINKS and  the most accurate information possible, along with her unique 'translation of the biomedicalese' for those who wish to understand it all.  Stay tuned.
_________________________________________________________ 
Dear Readers:

     There is a serious situation in Europe today regarding a great number of illnesses and deaths attributed to an  E. coli bacteria.

     By now you've read enough to know that there are many specifics 'types' of  E. coli bacteria, some more infectious than others.  
     The strain under consideration here is extremely RARE and has not, to date, been found in the United States.

     A recent CDC statement can be found below, which I will break down for you as best as I can.

     Please also 'click on' keywords below of interest to you for additional articles I have written to help you keep yourselves and your families as healthy as you can be.

     Here are some points of communal importance for us all:

---The RKI below in Germany is the equivalent of the CDC in the U.S.
---The RKI has so far confirmed 6 deaths and 373 patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome, or (HUS) (kidney failure), a life-threatening complication of E. coli infections.  This number is subject to change and will likely increase at any time.
---Given the extremely contagious nature of this outbreak, it is more imperative than ever that all TSA Officers regularly change their gloves and maintain high standards of hygiene for themselves and for the passengers they 'serve'.
     Remember that a TSA Officer's shirt/sleeve/wrist/glove/arm contaminated with fecal matter after a under-the-belt 'pat down' of a person suffering with a STEC 0104:H4 infection can infect many more persons, not to mention the TSA Officer themselves and their own families.  Good sanitation WORKS!  
     Infants and young children who travel are at particular risk at this time, so parents you must be extra vigilant and assertive, especially as youngsters seem to be singled out more and more for 'hands on' inspection by the TSA!

---The strain in question is E. coli O104:H4 is also known as STEC.  'STEC' stands for 'Shiga toxin-producing E. coli'.
---Note that it is the TOXIN which does the most damage during severe infection with 'STEC' E. coli.
---Signs and symptoms of infection with  STEC O104:H4 are VERY obvious.  Even non-lethal cases present with severe cramps and bloody diarrhea with nausea and vomiting.  The patient will 'feel very sick'.  PARENTS: IF YOUR CHILD OR OTHER LOVED ONE HAS THE SLIGHTEST INDICATION OF HAVING CONTRACTED AN INFECTION OF THIS SORT, SEEK MEDICAL HELP IMMEDIATELY.  DO NOT DELAY.  Infants, children, the elderly, those with chronic medical conditions and those who are immuno-compromised are at particular risk of developing severe, life-threatening complications such as kidney failure ( hemolytic uremic syndrome aka HUS)
---The 'Shiga-toxin' produced by this food-borne bacteria does it's damage by literally destroying the mucosal lining of the intestines with attendant hemorrhaging which results in the so-called 'bloody diarrhea'.  This toxin destroys all other body tissues, as well.  If and when the infection overwhelms the body, major organ failure is induced and death is inevitable.
----Even 'non-life-threatening' STEC O104:H4 infections can result in severe anemia (lack of sufficient red blood cells), dehydration and other sequelae.  Weakness and a sense of debilitation can persist afterwards for a long time.
---All body fluids/substance (especially feces, blood, urine, vomit) of a person infected with STEC O104:H4 should be considered 'infectious'.
---Thus far, no cases of STEC O104:H4 are reported in the U.S.A., but with modern travel, it is entirely possible that this strain will make itself known here soon enough.  
     Remember that E. coli bacteria, whatever the 'type',  live in the intestines of warm-blooded vertebrates and are carried thus.  E. coli species and subspecies USED TO BE 'species-specific', meaning that cows had bovine E. coli, while humans only had human-type E. coli.  
     But things have changed and these strains can 'cross infect' and worse, different bacterial genuses hitherto thought to be UNABLE to 'conjugate and exchange genetic material' have done just THAT...ergo the emergence of 'superinfectious strains' like the E. coli O157:H7 the United States is familiar with.
---Just because no cases of STEC O104:H4 haven't been reported in the United States or in U.S. Service Members stationed in Germany does NOT mean that they will not be.  Be alert!  Stay aware.
---Remembering that initial outbreaks of E.coli disease years ago were linked to hamburger meat, bear in mind that subsequent outbreaks in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world have been linked to various fruits, vegetables and just about any edible foodstuffs.
---The initial reports implicate CUCUMBERS, lettuce and tomatoes in Germany, as the source of the STEC 0104:H4, but this does not necessarily mean that that is the sole source of the infection.
---Understand that much 'under reporting' is due to the fact that healthy individuals with relatively 'mild' cases of food-borne illness never see a physician or other health care provider, let alone 'get reported' in accordance with state and federal protocols.
---Be aware that given the fact that STEC O104:H4 is very rare and that it is suddenly the source of such major infection, there is the possibility of deliberate tampering with the food supply.
      Fortunately, it is possible to conduct epidemiological forensic work akin to DNA analysis and all types of 'fingerprinting' on these microbes, not that the public will ever necessarily know the truth if tampering is discovered in a limited outbreak.
---The above said, nature has no equal when it comes to rapid development and spread of contagion, especially in the modern world with long-distance travel of persons, produce and products, traditional overuse of antimicrobials, depressions of immune systems due to environmental factors and medical intervention and human frailties.
     Finally, I once again urge that you all maintain HIGH PERSONAL HYGIENE STANDARDS.
     Carry antimicrobial gel with you and use it constantly.  Teach children to do the same.
     Remember that a flushing toilet 'shoots' an aerosolized mist a good six feet into the room, at least.  Store toothbrushes and personal care items well away from and/or protected from toilet 'spray'.
     Keep hands and fingers away from the face, out of the mouth/nose/eyes/ears, etc.
     Thoroughly wash ALL produce with a small amount of dish detergent and water and scrub with a vegetable brush.  Of course, be sure to rinse away all trace of 'soap smell'.
     I do not recommend the regular use of a bleach solution to disinfect food, unless sanitation conditions are at an all-time low.
     Certain foods such as lettuce and berries cannot be washed clean enough to be safe to eat if they are, indeed, contaminated with a pathogenic microbe such as those discussed here.
     Try to buy from reputable sources and organic if you can afford it.  But understand that eating tainted food is always a possibility under the best of conditions.
     Do note that even if ALL BACTERIA and other microbes are removed or killed before eating, TOXINS can STILL BE PRESENT which cannot be 'cooked or cleaned away'.
     It is better to 'do without' when in doubt, rather than risk your health and that of your family.
     That's it for now and be sure to check www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com regularly for updates as this situation with STEC O104:H4 unfolds.
     If you'd like to sign up for my FREE NEWSLETTER and get my latest news right in your mailbox, sign up below.
     Please be careful in this age of 'superbugs'.
May God Bless & Keep You
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com
Questions/Comments: down below or email Rev. Barb at BarbaraKSexton@aol.com 
LINK for article below:  http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/s0601_ecoligermany.html?s_cid=2011_s0601_ecoligermany

CDC Statement on Outbreak of STEC O104:H4 infections in Germany

CDC is following a large outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104, or STEC O104, infections currently going on in Germany. As of May 31, 2011, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's disease control and prevention agency, has confirmed six deaths and 373 patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome, or (HUS) (kidney failure), a life-threatening complication of E. coli infections.
To date, no confirmed cases of STEC O104 infections have been reported in U.S. travelers to Europe. Two cases of HUS in the United States have been reported in persons with recent travel to Hamburg, Germany. CDC is working with state health departments to learn more about these two cases and to identify others. CDC has been in contact with the German public health authorities at RKI. We have alerted state health departments in the United States of the ongoing outbreak. We have also requested that they report to CDC any cases in which people have either HUS or Shiga toxin-positive diarrheal illness, with illness onset during or after travel to Germany since April 1, 2011.
The strain of STEC causing illness, STEC O104:H4, is very rare. CDC is not aware of any cases of STEC O104:H4 infection ever being reported in United States. Any person with recent travel to Germany with signs or symptoms of STEC infection or HUS, should seek medical care and let the medical provider know about the outbreak of STEC infections in Germany and the importance of being tested. Symptoms of STEC infection include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, which is often bloody, and vomiting. If there is fever, it usually is not very high. Most people get better within 5–7 days, but some patients go on to develop HUS—usually about a week after the diarrhea starts. Symptoms of HUS include decreased frequency of urination, feeling very tired, and losing pink color to skin and membranes due to anemia.
CDC is not aware that a specific food has been confirmed as the source of the infections. Travelers to Germany should be aware that the German public health authorities have recommended against eating raw lettuce, tomatoes or cucumbers, particularly in the northern states of Germany (Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Schleswig Holstein). We have no information that any of these suspected foods have been shipped from Europe to the United States at this time. The US Department of Defense has been notified of this outbreak because of the presence of U.S. military bases in Germany. We are not aware of any cases among U.S. military personnel.
Here are answers to frequently asked questions:

1. Would this be the largest E. coli outbreak ever in the world?
   
   We are still learning more about the overall size of this outbreak. The number of HUS cases involved indicates that the outbreak is very large.
2. Tell us about this rare strain and are we testing for it here?
   
   A very rare strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC has been reported from some patients in the outbreak. This strain, E. coli O104:H4 has never been seen in the United States, and CDC is only aware of few reports of this strain from other countries. Although it is rare, the United States' public health surveillance systems are designed to be able to identify this, and other rare STEC strains, in ill people. However, the ability to detect STEC infections through surveillance depends on proper diagnostic testing of patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of STEC. In 2009, CDC published recommendations for the diagnosis of STEC infections by clinical laboratories. The illness that it causes is similar to that caused by E. coli O157:H7 which is also a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and the one most commonly identified in the United States.
3. Could people travel from Germany and spread it here?
   
   STEC infections can be spread from person to person. The best defense is careful, thorough hand washing. Persons returning from Germany who have diarrhea should be sure to wash hands well with soap and warm water after using the bathroom, and should not prepare food for others while they are ill. People who are in contact with ill people who recently visited Germany should also follow basic hygiene practices carefully, including washing their hands thoroughly before eating or drinking and after caring for an ill person.
4. Why so many sick people?
   
   
   It is too early to know why this is such a large outbreak. The large size may have to do with contamination of a popular food item. However, to our knowledge a specific food vehicle has yet to be confirmed. It is also possible that the unusual strain is particularly likely to cause HUS. 
   LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/s0601_ecoligermany.html?s_cid=2011_s0601_ecoligermany

"Biochemist Recommends: Always Request Glove Changes You're Entitled To During TSA Pat-Downs!" By Reverend Barbara Sexton "The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"

TSA Pat-Down

Dear Ones:
     Well, I searched for it and here is a link on the TSA website which states that you have every RIGHT to ask TSA Officers to change their gloves when they touch your person and your property.
"You have the right to ask a Security Officer to change her/his gloves during the physical inspection of your accessible property, before performing a physical search (pat-down,) or any time a Security Officer handles your footwear." 
LINK: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1567.shtm
     I have already discussed contamination and contagion possibilites at the hands of TSA agents
LINK: http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2010/11/tsa-luggage-searches-infective.html 
     Regular 'glove changes' are prudent for travelers and TSA Officers alike.
     The only caveat is that since the gloves only cover up to the wrist, it is important to realize that any 'exudates', weeping/oozing fluids, bacteria, viruses, protozoans and so forth entrapped on the sleeves and other uniform parts of the TSA Officers (and on their bare skin for those wearing short sleeves) STILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR YOU.
     Should any of the above contaminate you via the TSA Officer's clothes, you may be at risk, especially, should the contaminated uniform make contact with your eyes, mouth, nose, ears, broken skin, mucous membranes, 'rashy areas' and other 'areas'.
     Many microbes can live for an amazingly long time on so-called 'non-living surfaces' like clothing, pens, communication devices, clipboards, 'wands' and all the other items TSA Officers are likely to use when examining you.
     And the contamination potential can be even WORSE when the TSA Agent has bare arms which can carry not only fellow travelers' contamination, but his or her OWN population of bio-organisms, both pathogenic and non-pathogenic, as well!

TSA Pat-Down

     DON'T BE SHY!  ASK FOR A GLOVE CHANGE FOR THE FOLLOWING:
--before anyone handles and inspects your carry-ons
--after anyone handles your shoes and intends to continue
--after a TSA Officer touches their face/nose/mouth/ears/hair or anywhere else on their own body
--after anyone sneezes and/or coughs and/or has a runny nose and/or drools or 'splatters saliva while speaking' during your pat-down
--after a cast or brace is 'swabbed for explosives'.  It is virtually impossible to keep a cast or brace absolutely sterile and the swabbing procedure is essentially a 'microbe-collecting procedure' which will contaminate the TSA Officer's gloves no matter what he or she does.
--any time you feel uncomfortable with sanitation levels during your pat-down.
     Of course, these suggestions are as much for the benefit of the TSA Officers as they are for the traveling public.
     In an ideal world, TSA Officer's would be provided with new, clean disposable cover-ups and multiple sets of gloves for each and every passenger.
     If it were up to me, they would wear face masks, as well.
     But as it stands now, I suppose it will be necessary for some sort of airport and travel-related epidemic to break out before those safe-guards are in place.
     I've already written about 'Dominican Republic/Haitian Cholera' in New York City:
LINK: http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2011/02/dohmh-officials-confirm-3-cases-of.html 
And about the emergence of Dengue Fever in the United States:
LINK:  http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2010/08/dengue-fever-redux-socio-medical.html
     I also have a word or two for those with allergies.  Certainly, latex gloves themselves have a high allergenic potential for some people. 
     Please be sure to carry a note from your health care provider IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO LATEX and request the use of NON-LATEX GLOVES by any TSA Officers patting you down and touching your property.
     For those of you allergic to strong scents, be sure to request a 'glove change' whenever you suspect that a TSA Officer's gloves are contaminated with perfume or any other highly odoriferous substance.
      If the TSA Officer themselves has any overpowering odors themselves which are likely to aggravate your allergies, you may have to ask for a 'TSA Officer change', as well! 
    I imagine TSA Officers are counseled to not wear strong fragrance, etc and if not, they should be. 
     But in the course of the day, it is pretty likely that something or other from some one's Dopp kit will spill on a TSA Officer's clothing or work area, so you must be prepared to advocate for yourself if you or your loved ones have allergies. 
     I pray this information is of some help to you.  Please be sure to read all the 'tips' provided on the TSA Pat-Down Page entitled "Tips For The Screening Process":
LINK: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1567.shtm
     They're good ones as we attempt to 'cope' with the realities of modern air travel in an uncertain world.
God Bless You & Bon Voyage
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com
BarbaraKSexton@aol.com 

"TSA Luggage Searches & Infective Potential Due To Dirty Unchanged Gloves & Bad Technique" By Reverend Barbara Sexton

Dear Readers:
     First of all, let me say that I am in no way blaming any TSA shortcomings on TSA Officers alone...but also on those who train, equip, monitor and discipline them.
     The fact is that TSA Officers are, at present, not CERTIFIED nor can they be EXPECTED TO conduct body and luggage searches with any type of consideration for 'sanitation', 'hygiene' or 'good health practices'. 
     As far as we know for now, all they are required to do is 'wear gloves' and conduct their searches without hurting, spilling, breaking or losing anything.  We can't expect of them anything resembling 'aseptic technique' and that's just a fact...especially at their paltry salary level.
     In a perfect world, care would of course be taken to make sure that persons' bodies and belongings were examined under as 'sanitary' conditions as possible.  Yes, this takes longer and costs more, requiring 'regular glove changes', as well as the wearing of masks and perhaps other protective gear apparel by the examining TSA Officer.
     And let us not forget that TSA Officers are deserving of more training and HAZARD PAY if Officials are determined to 'stay this course' of unsanitary 'pat-downs' and luggage searches, as well as 'dubiously safe 'scannings'.
     But as it is today, how is one to know if the TSA person examining their person and luggage is not harboring some kind of respiratory pathogen-viral, bacterial or even more exotic?  We'd like to know that the TSA Officer is not sneezing and hacking all over our luggage contents, but how can we know?
     The fact is, even 'in the best of scenarios', we just can't!
     How do we know that a 'good sneeze' on our toiletries did not take place, thus contaminating our personal items destined for use on our skin?
     We can't!
     How do we know that a TSA Officer's dirty gloves--contaminated with staph or strep or worse from a 'previous toiletries check'--has not just 'contaminated' our undies, handkerchiefs and personal items? We can't! 
     'Used' and 'sticky' personal hygiene items, toiletries and cosmetics--we all have them in our little plastic bags.  But few realize what GREAT HARBORERS and potential TRANSMITTERS of microorganisms they also are.
     Or, maybe we do and, if so, it's time to remember it!
     Don't we tell our children and young people NOT TO SHARE lipglosses, lipsticks, mascaras, deodorants, hairbrushes, washclothes and the like, product preservative systems notwithstanding?  Yes, we do.
     Is the public, let alone the TSA, cognizant of the fact that many 'soaps', far from being part of the 'cure' for our microbial contamination issues, are actually HAVENS for some of our worst water-loving pathogens?
     I don't know if they do.  But the fact is that the water-loving and living Pseudomonas aeruginosa (which produces a blue-green discoloration to the flesh and nails it infects), for instance, has been found to actually live in and 'EAT' certain (liquid) soaps!
     Pseudomonas' notoriety stems from the fact that systemic infection with it is overwhelmingly fatal.  And it 'loves' soap.
     With the advance of science, humankind is astounded to grasp the significance of the vast ability of the tiniest forms of 'life' to hunker down and survive and even thrive in any number of substances we use every day.
     And this knowledge ought rightly reduce us to humility as we realize that organisms invisible to our naked eyes can bring us not only to our knees, but to our Maker. 
     Thus my prayer is that such 'humility' will compel us to consider that which we might not otherwise and I start 'here' by way of simple example:
     You've packed 'damp' swimsuits for 'quick travel', haven't you?  Maybe you gave your child's suit a 'quick soapy rinse', packed it in a plastic bag for a flight and thought nothing of it.
     But have you considered the consequences of dirty, unchanged, potentially contaminated TSA Officer gloves closely examining this 'damp garment', since it is 'out of the norm'?  Have you considered that a little 'soap' can serve as a culture medium for some bad bugs?
     Or maybe you've just packed that suit, still damp with some chlorinated pool water.  In this case, I ask, "You DO realize that that little bit of chlorine is useless as an antimicrobial in the event of gross TSA Officer glove contamination, don't you?
     Unless you literally 'disinfect' that suit post haste, it is a real health hazard. 
     In a forthcoming article, I will detail some effective and practical ways to 'disinfect' items that have been subjected to 'TSA Screening'.  If you've never given this much consideration before, you will now...or you should, anyway.
     I'm not suggesting that we all adopt what some call 'Howard Hughes Syndrome'.  I'm not advising that we get OCD when it comes to 'germs'.  But we must get realistic and practical.  
     What is 'good for the traveler' is ALSO 'good for the TSA Officer', I might add.  From the standpoint of sheer exposure, the group MOST at risk from luggage and body-handling 'woes' is not the public, but the TSA workers themselves.
     So we all must listen and we all must act. 
     When it comes to the realities of living and travel today, "These are not 'our parents microorganisms' at all".  Gone are the good old days when eating a peck of dirt in a lifetime would help assure a 'good immune system'.
     We've 'blown out' our immune systems via various pharmaceuticals, environmental conditions and lifestyle choices.  And... 
     We have many more pathogens (microorganisms that cause disease in humans and other animals and even in plants).  And...
     Not only are there more pathogens, but many of them have become more virulent, meaning their 'infectious capability' and potential deadliness have also increased. 
     Far from being 'panic talk', what I am saying here is long-overdue for public consumption, in my opinion.  I've personally never worked in a biology or chemistry lab which didn't work in close association with a microbiology unit and sometimes a virology unit, as well.
     Many of us have 'cross-trained' and for good reason in both academic and manufacturing settings.  And some of us will speak openly about things the public needs to know in order to make intelligent decisions.
     By now you Readers are aware that the  'traditional medical establishment' is loathe to speak openly about nosocomial (hospital-acquired) and community-acquired infections...especially since the line between the two has become increasingly 'blurred' in the last decade.  You'd better bet that hospitals and health care facilities of all sorts are very dirty places!
     Just ask any patient or family member who has been unfortunate enough to have suffered from an infection in a health care setting.  Or just ask an honest health care provider and they will tell you also.
     The time to address all this is now.  How fortuitous in a sense, the TSA situation is, if only because it forces all to take a good look at 'public sanitation issues'.  
     In this age we do well to be concerned about our 'global health'.  As all 'flu outbreaks' originate in Asia and migrate sequentially to Hawaii, to California and onward to the east coast per epidemiological studies (typically, but not always!) we see new 'patterns' emerging every day. LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/
     Dengue Fever, for instance, despite a popular and misleading commercial to the contrary, is alive and well in Miami, Fl.  Here's a recent article I did on this, in fact: LINK: http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2010/08/dengue-fever-redux-socio-medical.html    
     MISinformation dies hard, it would seem.
     Simply put, just because 'the public does not hear about it', doesn't mean that global patterns of disease spread are not morphing and changing before our very eyes, via the 'human vector'.
     You know what 'disease vectors' are.  Mosquitoes are one, as are birds and swine.  Vectors are, simply put, the factors by which disease is spread.
     And now, since 'man' is 'the most deadly predator', I am fearing that likewise, man in the end will be the 'deadliest disease vector' as well, a la 'the 'TSA Dirty-Glove Syndrome'.
     When we consider the natural and bioengineered microbial variants being discovered every day, we wonder how, with the status quo, we are to be safe in this 21st century.
For You In Christ,
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/

"TSA Bumper 'Snickers' For You" By Reverend Barbara Sexton-- Dear Ones HealingMinistry

From e-mail:

Dear Readers:
     Sorry, I know some of these may be 'close to the line', but considering the subject matter, maybe not.  In any case, I hope you can at least have a little 'chuckle' at some of them. 
     THANKS UNCLE CHARLIE for sending these along!
     But seriously, the new TSA 'regulations' are no picnic for TSA Officers, any more than they are for (we) hapless travelers.  I say this not only as someone involved with the MRC (Medical Reserve Corps) LINK: http://www.medicalreservecorps.gov/HomePage , but as a PASTOR and BIOCHEMIST who is a fellow traveler, as well.
     And so I say, let us remember that TSA Officers are 'as much at risk'-if not more so-than the customers they must 'frisk'! 
     If you think about it, those in charge of our 'security' are also as subject to the communicable diseases (not to mention the words and actions of angry persons) as we are. 
     I cannot help but think that this must be so very stressful for those who work to keep us safe and I have written about this before, recently.  LINK: http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2010/11/biochemist-concerned-tsa-pat-downs-will.html
     Let us pray that we can ALL contribute to and formulate a reasonable solution, before things get even MORE out-of-hand.  
     I would urge the federal government to 'get real' about WHO the likely culprits may be when it comes to airline security.  I would urge our leaders to 'opt out of' POLITICAL CORRECTNESS and 'opt in' for decent treatment of United States Citizens. 
     It is possible for Homeland Security and the TSA to continue their vigilance on our behalf regarding those who would appear to have the potential to DO HARM to airline passengers WITHOUT infringing TOO MUCH on the rights of American travelers.
     I understand, as I'm sure you do, the need to investigate atypical, anomalous persons, items and events.  Five years ago,I traveled to Florida with an old, beat-up, 'popped open and taped' laptop and was 'called aside'.  No surprise there. 
     I was asked to 'open the computer up'.  Truth to tell, I was more embarrassed about the state of my device than I was about being 'singled out' in line.
     Not only was my computer swabbed, but coincidentally a wrist splint I was wearing was ALSO liberally swabbed by some very competent & polite TSA people.  We all 'survived' the day.
     Yes, I understood, explosives can indeed be secreted in casted limb material.  I just hadn't thought of it at that time.    
     I passed their scrutiny and all was done with good 'humor' and I learned to remove any 'prostheses' and orthopedic devices well BEFORE reaching my airport 'screener".
     But now we are in a 'New Age' and we wonder if we can get BACK to such 'easy travel for all citizens of the U.S.A'.  For what it's worth, I believe we can.    
     I think we can overcome our divisions and come together, get our act together and find a way to DO THINGS RIGHT!
     Please pray with me on this, whatever your 'religious persuasion' and even if you are an 'atheist', 'agnostic', 'pagan'...or none of the above.
     I believe in my heart that we can get past this.
May God Grant You ALL'Traveling Mercies' this Thanksgiving & Holiday Season & Beyond!
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/

"Biochemist Concerned TSA 'Pat-Downs' Will Lead To Spread of MRSA, Scabies & Worse" By Reverend Barbara Sexton "The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"

MRSA: http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/symptoms/index.html

Dear Ones:
     With Thanksgiving 'Week' already here, it might be a good time to 'read and review' TSA scanning and personal search techniques in use in American airports today.  Here is the 'Pat-Down' link for you: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/pat_downs.shtm 
     A thorough read here reveals NO MENTION OF any 'changing of gloves between searches', a fact which is very disturbing.  Doesn't the TSA realize that MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS and easy to transmit?
     Here is what the Centers for Disease Control, the CDC, has to say about 'MRSA Spread': "MRSA infections, as with all staph, are usually spread by having contact with someone’s skin infection or personal items they have used, like towels, bandages, or razors that touched their infected skin. These infections are most likely to be spread in places where people are in close contact with others—for instance, schools and locker rooms where athletes might share razors or towels."
LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/causes/index.html 
     Modesty, pervert, pedophile and dignity concerns aside...here is my PARTIAL list of health concerns for the modern airline traveler today:
     1)  Gloves are not changed between 'pat-down' and body exams.  FIX:  DEMAND that the TSA worker change into new gloves for you.  In an ideal case, they would also be required to vigorously wash their hands (and arms) before re-gloving as is done in medical settings and wear face masks when they are contagious.
     2)  The following is a partial list of infectious agents which can be spread from person-to-person on dirty hands/arms, gloves, security wands, chairs, tables and floors.  There is risk not only to the person being examined, but to the TSA Officer, as well.  In addition, careless manipulation of diseased or infected areas can spread and exacerbate any existing infection.  How ironic in this 'day and age' of repetitive hand-sanitizing with 'gels' of all sorts, our Federal Government has chosen to turn our airports into fulminating 'Petri Dishes' capable of transmitting all sorts of pathogens.
    Here are the infectious conditions that concern me the most for now:
   --MRSA, as discussed above.
   --Tinea corporis ('ringworm'-fungal infection of the body, NOT a 'worm') including: Tinea capitis (fungal infection of the head),Tinea cruris (jock itch) and Tinea pedis (athlete's foot)  The most obvious source of infection is the 'floor' where people must stand in (perhaps damp) stocking feet or barefooted.  Ringworm may occur anywhere on the body and one form of Tinea can be spread to a place where it ordinarily does not occur, especially in the unsanitary conditions found in airport screening areas.Here's the National Institute of Health LINK for you:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000877.htm
    --Other skin diseases to be aware of during your 'airport search' :
LINK: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2010/chapter-4/skin-and-soft-tissue-infections-in-returned-travelers.aspx
   --Varicella (chickenpox) In-Short-"Spread by coughing and sneezing (highly contagious), by direct contact, and by aerosolization of virus from skin lesions."
LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/in-short-adult.htm And YES, you CAN get chickenpox more than once!  Consult your health care provider on this one.

Shingles-Herpes zoster http://www.medicinenet.com/skin_problems_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

     Will 'care be taken' with those who have Herpes zoster (shingles) infections? Running hands over 'herpes zoster-infected' skin not only PICKS UP viral particles, but is bound to be EXTREMELY PAINFUL for the poor person being examined.
     ALSO I WOULD ASK, "HOW OFTEN ARE THOSE 'BINS' SANITIZED...if EVER?
   --Diseases spread by feces and/or water: Any 'swiping down below the waistband' with anything or any hand, gloved or not is subject to becoming contaminated with fecal pathogens.  Diseases of concern include: cholera and typhoid fever.
     "Salmonella Typhi lives only in humans. Persons with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract. In addition, a small number of persons, called carriers, recover from typhoid fever but continue to carry the bacteria. Both ill persons and carriers shed Salmonella Typhi in their feces (stool)."
LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/typhoid_fever/
     The bottom-line:  contamination with feces on gloves is a potential problem whenever 'hands have the potential to go to mouth'.  This is of special concern with children and the elderly.  And it goes for all the E. coli pathogens, as well.
     Then there's:
   --Trachoma: Primary: person-to-person transmission by ocular and respiratory secretions. Secondary: insect vectors such as house flies. A rub-of-the-eye, a cough, sneezing, drooling and 'unchanged dirty TSA Officer gloves' will spread this parasite.  You might recall that it was a major problem with Ellis Island immigrants.
   --Ascariasis video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIYI7j_IB5o&feature=related
   --Ascariasis: "an infection of the small intestine caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, a large roundworm. The eggs of the worm are found in soil contaminated by human faeces or in uncooked food contaminated by soil containing eggs of the worm. A person becomes infected after accidentally swallowing the eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae within the person's intestine. The larvae penetrate the intestine wall and reach the lungs through the blood stream. They eventually get back to the throat and are swallowed. In the intestines, the larvae develop into adult worms. The female adult worm which can grow to over 30cm in length, lays eggs that are then passed into the faeces. If soil is polluted with human or animal faeces containing eggs the cycle begins again. Eggs develop in the soil and become infective after 2-3 weeks, but can remain infective for several months or years."
LINK: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/ascariasis/en/
     Here's a hypothetical situation for you 'international travelers':
     The 'guy in front of you' has 'eggs on his shoe soles.  He is asked to remove his shoes and puts his bare sweaty feet where his egg-laden shoes were.  He's 'wanded' and then has a 'pat down' which includes his feet because he wears multiple 'corn pads or some other orthopedic device.  The TSA Officers gets 'eggs' on his gloves, doesn't change them and then goes onto his next 'pat down' which includes handling this next traveler's handkerchief.  The handkerchief 'goes to the traveler's mouth' at some point later that day, he swallows some 'eggs' and voila, our hapless traveler now has roundworms.
     Sounds implausible?  Don't bet on it for this and any number of other parasitic diseases.  You just better hope and pray the person in front of you with bare feet doesn't have secondary or tertiary syphilis!
     Yes!  That's what I said.  My next area of concern is:
   --Sexually transmitted disease (STD's): Easily transferred from moist surface to moist surface, such as body-to-glove and back again and in some cases from simple skin-to-skin contact (LGV). STD's which traditionally occur in 'one area', can also inadvertently be spread to other areas, such as the eyes and the mouth under the unsanitary conditions found in airport screening areas. Incontinence pads, catheters and sanitary napkins can be a rich source of pathogens, which when even cursorily 'brushed by a TSA' glove can become a virtual 'disease swab' for the next hapless traveler to be touched by those unchanged gloves.

Secondary Syphilis http://depts.washington.edu/nnptc/online_training/std_handbook/gallery/images/syphilisrash.jpg

     Included here are syphilis, gonorrhea, Lymphogranuloma Venereum (LGV) LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/std/lgv/STDFact-LGV.htm#Howget , Chancroid, Pubic Lice, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Trichomoniasis (yes, a 'swipe down the pants' can result in a handful of this on the TSA Officer's glove)...all depending upon the 'hygiene' of the traveller as well as that of the TSA Officer.
Warts due to HPV:
http://www.medicinenet.com/skin_problems_pictures_slideshow/article.htm
Warts due to 'HPV'      Here's a general STD link for you: http://www.cdc.gov/std/default.htm 
   --Herpes infections: Genital Herpes herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2). Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2 and occurs on the genitals and rectum.  Per our friends at the CDC, "Transmission can occur from an infected partner who does not have a visible sore and may not know that he or she is infected." 
LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm 
     How does that make you feel?  Sure a person with HSV-1 (with 'oral Herpes' also known as a cold sore) will stand out to the observant TSA Officer.  But will that Officer change gloves?  Will that TSA Officer 'take care' with open Herpes sores and the clothing, gloves, etc that they may touch during removal and examination?
   --What kind of gloves does the TSA use?  Let's say they're 'polynitrile' (which they appear to be from photographs and would be a likely choice since they need to be both chemical and solvent-proof).  If LATEX is used, some people are tragically ALLERGIC to LATEX and anaphylactic shock can ensue with improper manipulation of body parts in these allergic individuals.
     A 'swipe of the mouth'...or any other body cavity, for that matter, can mean DEATH due to breaching of the mucosal barrier in latex-sensitive individuals. 
     Is this taken into account?
   --Pertussis ('Whooping Cough')--a very contagious disease only found in humans and is spread from person to person. People with pertussis usually spread the disease by coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who then breathe in the pertussis bacteria. LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/about/causes-transmission.html
     Pertussis USED to be under control, but infection rates have risen globally and also in the United States as some parents have become lax with vaccinating their children despite recommendations to do so.
     Airports with world travelers are a 'contagion gateway' for this disease with all this 'up close and personal' scanning and body examinations.  What a wonderful breeding ground for disease our airports have become.  Consider these:
   --Common cold, influenza, 'bird flu', 'swine flu', viral pneumonia--all of these viruses are easily transmitted.  If there is another 'flu pandemic', current TSA regulations will virtually guarantee global contamination for travelers everywhere.  Changing gloves...or even washing hands plus changing gloves is insufficient to protect one traveler from another or to protect the traveler and TSA Officer from each other if and when one is infected with a bad case of 'the flu'.
     And we must consider:
   --Bacterial pneumonia and Tuberculosis: the transmission risks are obvious to all of us.

Head Lice (& abscess)

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/slideshow_head_lice/article_em.htm

     Then there are my old friends found in homeless shelters and soup kitchens and the various mental health and other facilities I have worked in:

    --Scabies,head lice (as well as pubic lice, above), mites, fleas (yes-fleas will infest HUMANS when no other warm-blooded critters are available!).  And just think of the burgeoning BED BUG PROBLEM we are having with all these insect 'hitch-hickers' hitching a ride on imported goods, furniture and clothing!  Watch out for those chairs in airports until the regular 'fumigating' programs kick in.
     (And then I will write a piece on the connection between pesticide overuse and human cancer rates....but that's a different story, for now.)
     And so you have the best of my advice for you.  Please note that one of the disease categories that I HAVE NOT included above in the list of easily-transmitted human diseases is HIV infection.  This virus requires direct body-fluid-to-blood contact which is unlikely to occur in the typical TSA screening scenario today, unless internal exams become mandatory.
     There's no way, no how that HIV is 'casually' or even 'easily caught' by being exposed to urine, feces, specks of blood, copious tears or saliva spat upon the face, otherwise I would have been dead long ago.
     I also have not included hyper-contagious/dramatic pathogens such as the Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses for the simple reason that typically the 'host' does not 'live long enough' to create any substantial 'chains of infection' in the public in an airport setting. LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/vhf.htm 
     So there you have it and what I've listed here is in no way comprehensive.  We tell our children NOT TO share combs, hairbrushes, toothbrushes and so forth with others.  Yet we subject them to 'this'. 
     We allow them and ourselves to either be exposed to unwarranted irradiation and/or to be subjected to a 'pat-down' by someone with dirty gloves and perhaps capable of transmitting some disease to us.
     And equally disturbing is the possibility of our INFECTING OTHERS because our 'intrusive TSA' Officer examiner did not bother to or did not KNOW any better than to change his or her gloves.
     We cover our coughs with our 'arm sleeve' or hand.  Then the nice TSA lady pats that sleeve, thus getting a good gloveful of whatever we may or may not be carrying.  Now SHE is at risk for illness just by discharging her duties and she puts others at risk.
     No thanks. 
     It just doesn't seem right, does it?
God Bless You and your loved ones this Thanksgiving week
Reverend Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
http://www.dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/