Different viruses are spread in different ways. The main way that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads between people is by respiratory droplets. “In this case, a ‘droplet’ doesn’t just mean water that you can see, like big raindrops or splashes in the sink or a pool,” said Dr. Abigail Carlson, an infectious diseases physician with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), as part of CDC Project Firstline’s Inside Infection Control video series. “These droplets we’re talking about are actually really tiny, and where they come from may surprise you.”
Where Do Respiratory Droplets Come From?
You might think that when you breathe out, all that comes out is air. But our breath contains water too, in the form of respiratory droplets. ...
Cleaning removes dust, dirt, and germs from surfaces and objects. Disinfection makes sure that as many germs as possible are destroyed or killed. Cleaning and disinfection are both important infection control actions in hospitals and other healthcare settings because they keep germs away from people and help keep germs from spreading. Seems like common sense, right? “Even though it’s common sense, it’s important to think through all the reasons why we’re so careful about keeping an environment clean,” said Dr. Abigail Carlson, an infectious diseases physician with the CDC, as part of CDC Project Firstline’s Inside Infection Control video series.
The Importance of Cleaning and Disinfection: The Immune System
When we are healthy, our bodies have many built-in ways to ...
Unfortunately, Latino men have lower cancer screening rates than their White peers. Only 30% of Latino men received a PSA test for prostate cancer in the past year, compared to 37% of White men. Colorectal cancer screening was lower in Latinos (49%) than Whites (58%), too. To address this issue, you’re invited to join our webinar — Men, Why Should You Get Screened for Cancer? — at 2 p.m. CT on June 9, 2022. This Zoom webinar will feature guest speakers and patient advocates to help health care professionals and the Latino public understand the cultural and other barriers to screening, demystify screening tests, and share stories of Latino men's screening and cancer survival. This is the fourth webinar of a new series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The ...
Do you realize how many things you touch with your hands every day? When we touch anything from our phones to our doorknobs, we can pick up germs like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Germs can get in between our fingers or under our fingernails where it’s warm and damp, or in cuts on the skin, and grow and spread quickly, causing illness. That’s why hand hygiene and cleaning your hands is an important for infection control for frontline healthcare workers. “The simple answer is, when you clean your hands, you're stopping the spread of germs to your patients, to the environment, and to the things in the environment and from your patients or the environment to you,” said Dr. Abigail Carlson, an infectious diseases physician with the CDC, as part of CDC Project Firstline’s ...
June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month! This is a good time to reflect on the many challenges and inequities facing people of color in the United States when it comes to Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, and brain health. Sadly, U.S. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than whites. Latino caregivers experience high levels of stress when supporting their family members with the disease. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, to tweet about the latest data, strategies, and programs to prevent and reduce Alzheimer’s disease and promote better brain health among Latinos and all people! WHAT: #SaludTues: How to Address Alzheimer’s in the Latino Community
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. EST (Noon-1 p.m. CST), Tuesday, June 7, 2022
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May is Healthy Vision Month! The National Eye Institute (NEI) has theme for Healthy Vision Month—"Healthy Vision: A Family Focus" and "Visión saludable: ojos sanos para su familia." This is important because families of color, like Latinos, face barriers to eye health care. "We want to inspire families to team up and learn how to protect their vision together! We’re centering this year’s campaign around people who are more likely to have eye problems because of barriers in access to eye care," according to NEI. "A note to Spanish-speakers: Instead of directly translating, we purposefully transcreated some elements of the Healthy Vision Month content to make sure it’s culturally relevant." Here are five ways to promote health equity and healthy vision for families.
1. ...
Where you live, work, and play significantly impacts overall wellbeing. That’s why it’s important to explore and understand health inequities that can impact quality of life and health outcomes for Latinos and other people of color. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) is one such resource that helps leaders and county residents evaluate their community on a national scale. Created by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CHR&R publishes an annual national findings report. The report revealed worsening health trends for women, minorities, and low-income individuals in 2022, similar to the 2021 report findings, but driven by COVID-19, the worst public health crisis in more than a ...
As a child, A.J. Williams was exposed to domestic violence. Now a police officer in Fort Worth, Texas, Williams is making sure children like him are getting the support they need in school through the Handle With Care program, where police notify schools when they encounter children at a traumatic scene, so schools can provide support the next day. After COVID-19 derailed an idea to team up Fort Worth police and schools for a local Handle With Care program, Williams reinitiated plans with help from a Handle With Care action pack from Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio. He trained police and school leaders about the program and brought regional education leaders to the table who helped create a region-wide notification system. Now police departments and schools in the ...
Cleaning and disinfection are both important for preventing infections from spreading in healthcare settings. But cleaning is not the same as disinfection. Let’s explore the importance of cleaning and disinfection, and the difference between them, with the help of the CDC’s Project Firstline, a training and education collaborative designed to ensure all healthcare workers have the infection control knowledge and understanding they need and deserve to protect themselves, their patients, and their coworkers.
What is Cleaning?
Cleaning removes things like dust, dirt, grime, and other spills, smears, and everyday messes from surfaces. Cleaning can also remove things that are not visible, like germs. "You can think of cleaning as removing the ‘gunk’ that you can see on ...
