In its Respiratory Disease Season Outlook, the CDC expects the 2023-2024 season will look similar to last year. Last year’s hospitalizations were higher than experienced before the COVID-19 pandemic, in which severe disease was caused primarily by the influenza virus and the respiratory...
Though they can’t be seen, there are hundreds of tiny organisms living in blood and other body fluids that can cause disease in humans. These are called “bloodborne pathogens.” Some of these organisms are harmless and can be handled easily by the body’s immune system, but others can cause severe...
August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, and while hopefully your laboratory staff aren’t children, they should know the protocols for eye protection when dealing with hazardous materials. American workers experience 2,000 eye-...
Biorisk and biosecurity management protects lab workers and the communities they work in from the unintended, or intended, release of biological agents. The importance of this cannot be overstated, given the unknowns clinical lab workers face when testing patient samples and other materials.
Pete began his shift in the hematology department. He liked to use the counter-mounted safety shield when opening specimens because he didn’t like to wear goggles over his eyeglasses. When it was time to read differential slides, he knew he couldn’t look into the microscope with his glasses on,...
Be prepared for COVID-19 cases to increase in number and potentially severity if the general public becomes too lax in vaccination, testing, and using precautions once the public health emergency (PHE) officially ends on May 11.
Five medical organizations have teamed up to recommend best practices for hand hygiene in healthcare settings to protect patients and providers from infection. In particular, the recommendations focus on alcohol-based hand sanitizers and the importance of healthy skin and nails.
How do you remove harms and dangers from your laboratory? Safety officials have studied this question for years and found many innovative solutions to various issues. But when deciding what action to take in removing a threat, the best tool to use is the hierarchy of controls
There is a new “pox” on lab safety—monkeypox. Like the most recent novel virus (COVID-19), the unknowns about the monkeypox virus are creating new safety concerns for laboratorians, and it is now time to nip unnecessary fears in the bud. Safety leaders can accomplish this through preparation and...
The fire began in the university chemistry laboratory and quickly got out of hand. The local fire department was called as the flames became too much for extinguishers to handle. When the fire trucks arrived, the battalion chief asked for a chemical inventory so that his crew would be aware of...
