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India being the most populous country had to tailor made its approaches to tackle the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Public health expenditure in India is just above 1% of gross domestic product. The warning signs of pandemic arrival in India were knocking our health-care system since the first few cases surfaced in Kerala. Social distancing as a method of keeping the virus at bay was first officially flagged by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 19 in order to call for a 1-day “Janata Curfew” on March 22. The Epidemic Disease Act was implemented, and special task force was developed to draft guidelines for personal hygiene, surveillance, contact tracing, quarantine, diagnosis, laboratory tests, and the management of COVID-19. The Aarogya Setu app was developed to alert the public about COVID-19 symptoms, contact tracing, and the nearest contact of health-care center. We need to strive to extricate our country from this situation as advised by Krishna, “Uddharet Atmanatmanam—a person has to lift himself up; a man is his own best friend as also enemy.”

The presence of foodborne pathogen in betel leaf represents a major threat from the public health perspective and is an important export obstacle for South East Asian countries causing huge economical loss to the betel leaf farmers. Hence, to comply with national and international food safety requirements, use of non-chlorine sanitizer and low-cost personal hygiene & awareness tools for producing safe betel leaf were evaluated in this study. The study results demonstrated that microbial safety measures of the field soil and irrigation water used, and restriction in domestic animal entry into the field were able to produce microbiologically safe betel leaf. In addition, washing the harvested fresh betel leaves with 0.01% non-chlorine sanitizers provided adequate microbial safety of the fresh betel leaf. Thus, this approach could be applicable in the field for safe fresh betel leaf production for the consumers.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of a tailored health promotion and vaccination campaign conducted by a Local Primary Health Care Unit (LPHCU), in increasing children's immunization uptake of vulnerable social groups. The LPHCU of Ampelokipi, Larissa, Greece conducted an immunization campaign in accordance with the National Vaccination Program within a Roma settlement of Larissa, a population of approximately 4500 people, including 1500 children aged 2 months to 16 years. To ensure community engagement, the settlement's Roma mediator and the associated Medical Social Centre participated in the design and implementation of the campaign, facilitating coherent and precise communications about the campaign goals and methods. The campaign consisted of peer-to-peer communications with parents/guardians, followed by medical examination and vaccination of children, as well as scheduling of appointments for monitoring children's development. The communication messages presented vaccines as a health solution to parents and advised about personal hygiene and healthy diet habits. House-to-house health promotion visits were conducted to all houses of the settlement. From April 2019 to March 2020, a total of 704 vaccines were administered to 381 Roma children, conforming to the National Vaccination Programme of Greece. Our study demonstrated that LPHCU's have the potential to enhance confidence between healthcare providers and vulnerable social groups, towards disease prevention and to increase immunization uptake. Vaccination campaigns should be organized systematically at central country level, as part of continuing efforts of health promotion programs. Local health care providers can play a significant role in national campaigns for increasing vaccination coverage among vulnerable groups.

Nanotechnology applications are numerous, spanning diverse industries such as medicine, electronics, science and materials engineering; the last one includes materials science, biology and health. Nanomaterials stand out because they allow for the prolonged and scheduled release of nanoencapsulated actives. Among the needs exhibited by the industry today, the personal hygiene sector is responsible for significant economic growth annually. Nanotechnology is a ‘new’ approach that has stood out for its high efficiency. Nanometric materials can penetrate deeper into the skin, acting with greater efficiency and directionality; the composition or functionalization of these materials may also act as antimicrobial agents. Among the applications, it has been used in soaps, deodorants, shampoos, oral health, among others. This chapter contextualizes the nanotechnology in antimicrobial and hygiene products, presenting their main characteristics, the approaches used to prepare the nanoparticles, the encapsulation methods, the main nanomaterials employed, and the product trends for the next decade.

The high rate of industrialization and public transportation results in a massive spread of microbial infections throughout the country. Both natural and synthetic fibres are more likely to suffer from microbial attack utilizing dirt as a food source with increased microbial contamination on the human body. With the improved public awareness about infection especially during a pandemic, the prevention of hazardous microbial buildup and improvement of personal hygiene are achieved through the antimicrobial textile materials. Antimicrobial activity of textiles could be upgraded by the use of numerous chemicals, heavy metals, polymeric derivatives, quaternary ammonium compounds, different types of chitosan and halogenated phenols, polybiguanides and antimicrobial peptides during their production process. This promotes the development and commercialization of smart stimuli-responsive and self-cleaning textile materials. Accordingly, various commercial antimicrobial textiles are finding extensive applications in healthcare and hygiene products, such as surgical dressings and materials, beddings, clothes, wipes and sanitary napkins.

SummaryBackgroundSchool closures were part of a series of non-pharmacological intervention (NPI) measures addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus. We aimed to study changes in the environment, diet, behavior, personal hygiene, contacts, lifestyle choices and the degree of compliance to NPI measures by primary school children in Cyprus at school and at home for two periods, i.e., before lockdown and during the school re-opening using the methodological context of the human exposome.MethodsDuring June 2020, an online survey questionnaire was forwarded to parents of primary school children through schools’ administrations, with questions about the children’s lifestyle/behaviours for two periods; school re-opening, following the population-wide lockdown (May 21-June 26, 2020), and the school period before lockdown (before March 2020). Descriptive statistics and exposome wide association analysis were implemented to agnostically assess associations of demographic, lifestyle and behavioral parameters with the degree of compliance to NPI measures.FindingsA total of 1509 children from more than 180 primary schools (out of 330 schools) in Cyprus were included. Median number of contacts per day at home, school and other places during weekdays was lower (pInterpretationIn this national survey, children showed a high degree of compliance to most NPI measures for the community and primary school settings in Cyprus. The initial NPI measures may have affected the children’s exposome profile in the following months, by altering their diet, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle and hand hygiene habits.FundingThe study was partially funded by the EXPOSOGAS project, H2020 under grant agreement #810995Panel: Research in contextEvidence before this studyWe searched PubMed for studies published until September 30, 2020 using the search terms: COVID-19, children and lifestyle. Only six peer-reviewed, English-language studies were retrieved on the effect of COVID-19 measures on children’s lifestyle. The impact of non-pharmacological intervention (NPI) measures on children’s health during the pandemic period has been sporadically studied by focusing on a few risk factors at a time without using the exposome’s methodological framework, which is defined as the comprehensive characterization of all environmental exposures during one’s lifetime.Added value of this studyA survey targeted all primary schools of Cyprus to comprehensively study the impact of the initial population-wide NPI measures (lockdown) (March 13-May 4) on the children’s exposome during the school re-opening period (May 21 – June 26). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study looking at the post-confinement (lockdown) exposome profile changes of children during schools’ re-opening, after the initial population-wide NPI measures of COVID-19 response. The comprehensive and agnostic description of the children’s exposome profile may help to comprehensively account for both known and possibly unknown effects of NPI measures on children’s health and for delineating the children’s degree of compliance to infection prevention and control protocols at school and at home.Implications of all the available evidenceThis dataset could inform COVID-19 risk-based public health response strategies targeted for school settings. Future response strategies to epidemic waves shall consider elements of promoting a healthy lifestyle for children at school and at home. Public health policy could ultimately benefit from the inclusion of the human exposome methodological framework and its tools towards the improved identification of susceptible sub-population groups and to facilitate the deployment of site-tailored public health measures; this may be particularly relevant for children and their potential to spread the disease to vulnerable groups.

Since the emergence of a new concept “superabsorbent polymer” also referred as “slush powder” in 1950s, considerable interest and rapid progress have been put by scientist and industrialist to meet the demand. Superabsorbent hydrogels (SAHs), 3D hydrophilic networks of polymer chains; that absorb and retain aqueous solutions up to hundreds of times of their own weight while maintaining its network intact. The most widely used and commercially available SAHs are synthetic Na-polyacrylate. The tendency of replacing them with “greener” option is due to their poor degradability, biocompatibility and high cost. The affinity for water makes them useful in personal hygiene, agriculture, construction, water purification, drug delivery, etc. The reviewed SAHs in this article are purely saccharide based such as: starch, cellulose, chitosan, guargum, cyclodextrin, etc. with their chemical and physical synthesis. The discussed information will be very helpful to design bio-friendly and low-cost SAHs for biomedical and agricultural purposes.

Many publications are available on the topic of compliance with infection prevention and control in oral health-care facilities all over the world. The approaches of developing and developed countries show wide variation, but the principles of infection prevention and control are the same globally. This study is a systematic review and global perspective of the available literature on infection prevention and control in oral health-care facilities. Nine focus areas on compliance with infection-control measures were investigated: knowledge of infectious occupational hazards; personal hygiene and care of hands; correct application of personal protective equipment; use of environmental barriers and disposable items; sterilisation (recirculation) of instruments and handpieces; disinfection (surfaces) and housekeeping; management of waste disposal; quality control of dental unit waterlines, biofilms and water; and some special considerations. Various international studies from developed countries have reported highly scientific evidence-based information. In developed countries, the resources for infection prevention and control are freely available, which is not the case in developing countries. The studies in developing countries also indicate serious shortcomings with regard to infection prevention and control knowledge and education in oral health-care facilities. This review highlights the fact that availability of resources will always be a challenge, but more so in developing countries. This presents unique challenges and the opportunity for innovative thinking to promote infection prevention and control.

Considering the possibility of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, this brief commentary is intended to share some suggestions on how to phrase public health advice about maintaining social distancing, using face masks in public spaces and adhering to personal hygiene measures. The discussion will be focused on three factors: empathy, positive mood and social influence. The commentary concludes with a series of brief suggestions aimed at policy makers and stakeholders involved in promoting adherence to regulations to avoid a second wave of the pandemic through mass media communications.

Summary Healthy vaginal epithelium is essential for normal reproductive functions and protects against infectious diseases. Here, we present a protocol for developing mouse vaginal organoids from single epithelial cells. These organoids recapitulate both functional and structural characteristics of vagina in situ. This model is a powerful tool for investigating how vaginal microbiome or chemicals in contraceptives and personal hygiene products interact with stem cells and alter the epithelial dynamics, which will lead to new insights into the pathogenesis of vaginal diseases. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Ali et al. (2020)., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • A detailed methodology for generating and propagating vaginal organoids • Vaginal organoids functionally recapitulate in vivo vaginal epithelium • A procedure to maintain long-term cultures of vaginal organoids, Healthy vaginal epithelium is essential for normal reproductive functions and protects against infectious diseases. Here, we present a protocol for developing mouse vaginal organoids from single epithelial cells. These organoids recapitulate both functional and structural characteristics of vagina in situ. This model is a powerful tool for investigating how vaginal microbiome or chemicals in contraceptives and personal hygiene products interact with stem cells and alter the epithelial dynamics, which will lead to new insights into the pathogenesis of vaginal diseases.

Summary Background The wearing of gloves is included in the standard principles for preventing healthcare associated infections. A continued wearing of gloves may, however, result in the transmission of organisms instead of preventing infections. Few studies have explored how common it is for surfaces to be touched by potentially contaminated gloves. Methods Secondary analysis of field notes from 48 hours of unstructured observations of healthcare personnel's actions during patient care. The new focus was on to what extent healthcare personnel wore gloves that should have been removed or changed, what surfaces were touched by contaminated gloves and what patient-related activities were involved. Results A continued wearing of gloves occurred in about half of the observed episodes of patient care. On average, 3.3 surfaces were touched by contaminated gloves. The surfaces most frequently touched were ‘unused single-use items’, ‘equipment controls/switches/regulators/flush buttons’ and ‘bed linen’. This occurred mostly while helping patients with ‘personal hygiene’, when performing ‘test taking’ or during procedures involving the operation of medical or other ‘equipment’. Conclusion The continued wearing of gloves during patient-related activities carries the risk of organism transmission, as the gloves touch many surfaces. The most critical moments seem to be when the use of gloves is considered essential. A better understanding of the motivators of improper glove-use behaviour is needed to develop interventions that rectify the improper use of gloves.

Summary: Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates were detected from four patients who were admitted to the heart centre of southern Switzerland, between April and June 2019. An outbreak investigation was conducted. The three available patient samples were whole genome sequenced, showing that they all are Burkholderia cepacia species, and that two are identical. Isolates grown from sealed packages of disinfectant-free wash gloves used for personal hygiene were also genomically identical. The wash gloves appear to be the origin of the outbreak, contamination of which most likely occurred at the manufacturing site.

The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infections of dog in Enugu State, South Eastern Nigeria was studied retrospectively and prospectively. In the retrospective study, records of all diagnosed helminth infections of dogs brought to the University of Nigeria Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Nsukka from January, 2006 to September 2013 were collated and analyzed. The prospective study was carried out between October 2013 and July 2014 by examination of 263 faecal samples collected per rectum from dogs presented to a purposively selected Veterinary Clinics in Enugu metropolis and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The results of the 8 year retrospective prevalence study gave an overall prevalence of 56.1% and Ancylostoma species as the most prevalent helminth in the study area (33.2%). Mixed infections with more than one helminth parasite species were recorded in 8.6% of the cases. Annual breakdown of the prevalence data showed that the highest prevalence was recorded in 2009. Breed and age of the dogs were found to significantly influence the prevalence. In the prospective study, an overall prevalence of 51.7% was obtained. Ancylostoma spp. was also found most often in the study area, with a prevalence rate of 33.6%. Mixed infections with more than one helminth parasite species were found in 16.3% of the cases. A strong association was obtained between prevalence and breed of the dogs and also between prevalence and season. Due to the zoonotic nature of most of the encountered parasites and the close association between children and dogs, routine deworming, proper management of dogs and adequate personal hygiene is therefore recommended.

Cellulose is the substance that makes up most of a plant's cell walls. Due to the many hydroxyl groups along the backbone, cellulose is practically insoluble in common organic solvents, as well as in water, although it has highly hydrophilic nature. This property leads to poor dimensional stability, lack of thermoplasticity, and lack of antimicrobial properties. Surface properties of cellulosic polymers can be controlled, improved, and/or modified by grafting synthetic polymer chains onto the surface. The grafted side chains are hydrophilic in nature and are either cationic, anionic, or nonionic. These can be prepared by directly grafting such monomers as acrylic acid, or by grafting monomers such as acrylonitrile and hydrolyzing to acrylic acid and its salts. The resultant material can be used for some medical purposes such as controlled drug delivery, elimination of body water for eudemea observed in some diseases, personal hygiene products, platelet adhesion, and tissue scaffolds.

The main reasons for staphylococcal food poisoning are improper cooling and holding temperature, inadequate personal hygiene, and food handlers as carriers. Therefore food business operators have to put in place, implement, and maintain controls based on the hazard analysis critical control point principles. To prevent the replication of Staphylococcus aureus and subsequent toxin production, it is crucial to bridge the temperature range between 7.0 and 48.0°C as fast as possible. Furthermore, food handlers are the most frequent source of contamination of food with S. aureus. Therefore, food has to be handled in accordance with the good hygiene praxis. To prevent staphylococcal contamination, staff handling food has to be healthy and trained, e.g., in washing hands and wearing adequate hygiene clothing.

In the community eating establishments (CEE), prevention of foodborne infections/food poisoning can be achieved through appropriate steps taken at all levels of food processing, that is, source, supply, procurement, processing of raw food, transport, cooking, storage, distribution, and finally serving and eating of food. Immaculate personal hygiene of cooks, design, and hygiene of the kitchen premises, appropriate storage of food and healthy cooking practices are vital for prevention of foodborne diseases. Although general principles of food hygiene are important at all CEE, there are specific peculiarities of school mid-day meal program and the food served at the aanganwadi centers under the ICDS. Given the constraints of resources, space, time, the numbers involved, and considering the disease vulnerability of the beneficiaries (toddlers, school children and pregnant women) the level of hygiene has to be immaculate.

Drug substances and drug products are used for treating various diseases to save the lives of human beings. Drug substances and drug products should be manufactured using clean equipment with appropriate quality and in good environmental condition to avoid contamination of the product and to produce the desired therapeutic effect. Effort should be made to build quality into the product during each stage of the manufacturing process rather than simply testing the product. To regulate the manufacturing process, regulatory agencies along with pharmaceutical industrial organizations developed good manufacturing practice (GMP) guidelines for the preparation/manufacturing of the drug substance and drug products. Various GMP guidelines are followed in respective regions in the world even though the fundamentals of all the guidelines remain the same. The GMP guidelines consist of various processes including quality management, personnel, personal hygiene and qualification, building and facilities, sanitation, documentation and records, material management, production and in-process controls, packaging and labeling of drug substances and drug products, storage and distribution, laboratory controls, validation, rejection and reuse of materials, complaints and recalls, and change control. Clean equipment, cleanrooms, and environmental conditions are critical process parameters to be monitored strictly in the manufacturing process to ensure the highest standard of quality and purity of the product with desired safety and efficacy of the drug product to meet the regulatory requirements.

A food handler handles food or surfaces that are likely to be in contact with food, such as, cutlery, plates, and bowls. They may be involved in preparation of raw material, cooking, packing, storage, displaying, serving of food, and cleaning of utensils. They are an important link in the chain from farm-to-fork. It is imperative that they possess good hand-washing practices, personal hygiene, clean work attire, follow food-hygiene practices during work and receive regular training to ensure safety of food. During illness, restrictions need to be imposed for food handling. They suffer from various physical, chemical, biologic, mechanical, and psychosocial health hazards at the work place. Adequate food-safety training for food handlers is essential to ensure good practices at work.

Food processing equipment, like all industrial plant, is susceptible to failure through breakdown, deterioration in performance owing to wear and tear with time, and to obsolescence due to improvements in technologies. In the past, food manufacturers have resorted to inefficient “breakdown” maintenance, which occurred shortly, or a considerable time, after detection of the failure. Breakdowns usually result in the contamination of foodstuffs with foreign bodies from broken parts, potential microorganisms growing in harborage sites such as cracks, crevices, and pockets, and lubricating fluids from, e.g., broken bearings. As the failure may be detected too late in this type of maintenance, contamination may already have taken place, which may result in food safety problems, inferior product quality, and, finally, costly product recalls. Therefore, food manufacturers now use predictive and preventive maintenance as tools to detect and prevent premature failure. As part of preventive maintenance, the equipment’s overall condition and integrity are assessed, frequently requiring the dismantling of equipment. Subsequent servicing often requires further break-in to the system, with the result that preventive maintenance may in itself become a food contamination hazard. In this chapter, we aimed to provide food manufacturers and maintenance operators with guidance in the implementation of appropriate hygiene procedures during the maintenance of food processing equipment and utilities.

Modern disposable hygiene products have made an important contribution to the life of millions of people. Much has been done and still is being done to improve environmental performance in the production and design of baby diapers and incontinence products. This chapter discusses one of the emerging areas of nonwovens applications: personal hygiene. It first reviews key issues of hygiene materials and then discusses about the types and properties of nonwovens materials, along with applications, such as diaper, feminine hygiene products, and adult incontinence products.

With the acknowledgment that poor food hygiene practices amongst food workers are a leading cause of food safety incidents, food safety training for employees has become a central component in the management of food contamination risks. In the past, food hygiene training courses have relied heavily upon employees’ knowledge acquisition. However, we have known for quite a while now that behavior change does not result from simply having the correct knowledge of what is, and what is not, hygienic behavior. In this chapter, we draw on literature from the social sciences to gain an understanding as to why food workers may not engage in adequate food hygiene behavior. We consider the role of psychosocial influences as well as the central role that the culture of the workplace has in determining food hygiene behavior. We end the chapter by proposing a number of concrete actions that can be taken to promote a positive mentality and attitude toward hygiene training and help enable the transfer of knowledge and behavior from training to the workplace.

Introduction: There is general consensus that hepatitis C virus is efficiently transmitted by the parenteral route, whereas data on viral transmission by sexual or non-sexual intrafamilial contact are conflicting. Objective and Method: The aim of this study was to investigate the transmission of hepatitis C virus in nine heterosexual couples. Result: The mean age of the couples was 43.7 years. When interviewed, all of the women denied the presence of risk factors for acquisition of the infection, whereas the cause of infection in the nine husbands could be attributed to blood transfusions in two of them (22.2%), use of intravenous and inhaled drugs in six (66.7%), acupuncture in one (11.1%), and tattooing in one (11.1%). All men and none of the women reported sexual relations with sex professionals. The mean homology score (Non Structural 5b-hepatitis C virus) was 98.4%. Among the nine couples with matching subtypes, one (11.1%) was infected with subtype 1a, three (33.3%) with subtype 1b, and five (55.5%) with subtype 3a. Shared personal hygiene items showed a much higher correlation with the possible route of transmission and were better supported by the sequence homology data than the other associated risk factors. Three (33.3%) couples shared toothbrushes, seven (77.8%) shared razor blades, eight (88.8%) shared nail clippers, and six (66.7%) shared manicure cutters. Conclusion: Sharing of personal hygiene items was a confounding factor in the discussion of sexual hepatitis C virus transmission and the hypothesis of male-to-female transmission was supported in this study. Keywords: sexually transmitted diseases, phylogeny, hepatitis C

Essential oils are used for flavorings and aromas in foods, cosmetics, and personal hygiene products because of their chemical and functional properties. Moreover, the antimicrobial and anti-oxidant properties of these essential oils are increasingly being studied. These oils contain many components, including secondary metabolites from plants, and are mainly composed of mono- and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and their oxygenated derivatives, among others. Essential oils are highly susceptible to changes caused by external factors such as light, oxygen, and temperature, in addition to being prone to evaporating. To reduce these effects, the process of microencapsulation has become an alternative. Microencapsulation is a technique where the material of interest is encapsulated in a polymeric matrix, with spray drying being the most commonly used technique. Studies on the drying processes and the search for new formulations and polymer types are trends in this sector.

Spinal cord injury in the cervical cord can result in paralysis of all four extremities (tetraplegia). A motor neuroprosthesis can be used to stimulate the paralyzed muscles of the arm and hand to produce coordinated grasping and reaching functions for these patients. The user of the neuroprosthesis has real-time control of the stimulated function through use of the remaining voluntarily controlled musculature. Myoelectric signals have been demonstrated over the past decade to be the best method for controlling grasp. Typically, patients use the neuroprosthesis for eating, personal hygiene, and writing and office tasks. Future developments include the use of fully implanted systems and systems that provide multiple functions for these individuals – such as grasp, trunk support, and cough, bladder, and bowel function.

In the beginning of the chapter, the author points out that in the world there are many millions of chemicals and at least some of them are dangerous. The hazards of chemicals in ambient air, water, food, detergents, cosmetics, and personal hygiene products are described. The role of trace elements is considered. Chemical carcinogenesis comprises the major part of all cancers. The last part of the chapter is devoted to the description of the methods of carcinogen screening. Epidemiological method, chronic experiments on animals, physicochemical methods, short-term tests, and the analysis of the correlation between structure and biological activity of a molecule are discussed.

Outbreaks involving infected food workers in food-service settings have resulted in many cases of foodborne illness and deaths. Multiple-ingredient foods are most frequently associated with such outbreaks, probably because of frequent hand contact during preparation and serving. Many of the workers are asymptomatic shedders, are in contact with ill family members, handle raw foods of animal origin, or use improper hygienic practices. Their hands can carry billions of pathogens. Thus, barriers to contamination of food by workers include the use of utensils, gloves, and proper hand hygiene. Unfortunately, compliance with handwashing is not ideal, but can be improved through training and employee motivation.

Ascaris lumbricoides and Ascaris suum are widespread parasitic nematodes of humans and pigs, respectively. While the conventional host of A. suum is the pig, the parasite can also infect humans, so it too is of public health importance. Infection occurs via the fecal–oral route. In endemic areas, poor sanitation and use of untreated wastewater, sludge, and nightsoil in agriculture facilitate transmission. Ascaris eggs are resistant to many chemicals and physical conditions and are, therefore, used as indicators for testing the efficiency of wastewater and sludge treatment. Personal hygiene practices and sufficiently high cooking temperatures can interrupt foodborne transmission of the parasite.

Outbreaks involving infected food workers in foodservice settings have resulted in many cases and deaths. Multiple-ingredient foods are most frequently associated with such outbreaks, probably because of frequent hand contact during preparation and serving. Many of the workers are asymptomatic shedders, are in contact with ill family members, handle raw foods of animal origin or use improper hygienic practices. Stools of infected persons can carry billions of pathogens and many of these become deposited on hands following defecation. Exclusion policies for food workers have limitations because of the difficulty in detecting pathogens periodically excreted in stools. Thus, barriers to contamination of food by workers include an appropriate flow of raw food to processed food in food operations, and the use of food shields, gloves, utensils and proper hand hygiene. Unfortunately, compliance with hand washing is not ideal, but can be improved through training and employee motivation. Most importantly is the culture of the organization to which the worker belongs and the knowledge, task modeling and oversight by the local person in charge.

This article is a revision of the previous edition article by M.A. Mostert, H.L.M. Lelieveld, volume 3, pp 1802–1805, © 1999, Elsevier Ltd.

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the issues and considers ways that advances in nanotechnology might help. Water is used in virtually every aspect of human activity, from food production and personal hygiene to economic development and, as such, has deep-seated connections to social, cultural, and religious customs. It may seem there is an abundance of water, especially to anybody living in a developed nation where water flows freely and cleanly from the kitchen tap, but scarcity is already a challenge in many areas of the world. Further, it is predicted to become increasingly worse as the world population grows and climate change affects natural precipitation and evaporation patterns. Indeed, over the next 20 years, the available freshwater resources are likely to dwindle by 30 percent.

There are a number of different mechanisms of product contamination caused by personnel, therefore a number of ways in which it can be reduced and controlled are recognized in this chapter. It is advised that food production facilities must have a comprehensive hygiene policy, appropriate facilities and clothing, effective training and assurance that sound employee and visitor hygiene practices are carried out. This chapter shows what good hygiene policy should contain, how to conduct effective training and what are the important aspects to consider during hand washing, hand drying and crossing the barrier between low- and high-risk areas. The importance of personal hygiene in food production and preparation facilities is emphasized by reference to associated legal requirements and food poisoning outbreaks caused by contamination from personnel.

Cryptosporidium spp. is a protozoan parasite found worldwide in a wide variety of hosts, including humans. A number of species and genotypes are infective to humans, and are transmitted directly through the ingestion of feces from infected humans or animals, or indirectly through oocyst-contaminated water or food. In immunocompetent individuals, cryptosporidiosis often results in diarrhea but is self-limiting, whereas in immunocompromised individuals the disease can be chronic and life threatening. Diagnosis is by stool examination but very few drug treatment options are available to patients. Control measures include good personal hygiene, drinking properly treated water, and heeding public health recommendations regarding travel in developing countries. Foodborne outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis have been reported worldwide, and have been mainly associated with the consumption of contaminated fresh produce and unpasteurized apple cider. In addition to pre- and postharvest control measures, food handlers should take special precautions, including frequent hand washing, thorough washing of fresh produce, avoiding cross-contamination, and avoiding any handling of foods during, and immediately following, diarrheal episodes

Food safety is now seen to be managed and controlled by three fundamental requirements. HACCP programmes control hazards associated with the process, processing environmental prerequisites control hazards associated with the processing environment, and quality systems (e.g. ISO 9000) manage quality-related prerequisites, e.g. supplier approval and control, control of non-conforming products, customer complaints, traceability and recall, etc. This chapter focuses on processing environmental prerequisites and covers the design of the food manufacturing infrastructure (the factory, the process lines and services, the equipment and the food operatives) and the hygienic practices to keep the infrastructure in optimum condition (maintenance, pest control, cleaning and disinfection and personal hygiene). The management of environmental prerequisites initially involves ensuring that all generic prerequisites (such as cleaning and disinfection) are undertaken to best practice and appropriately validated. Further to this, any remaining sources of environmental hazards, and the transfer vectors by which they can contaminate food products, are assessed and appropriate controls installed. If controls are identified such that any failings in these controls would most likely result in product contamination, such controls are termed operational prerequisites (OPs). OPs are managed in a similar way to HACCP critical control points (CCPs) so that in the same way as CCPs are the major focus of attention in the control of the food process, OPs are the major focus in the control of the processing environment.

Food handler behaviour is important for producing safe food with food handler error a factor in many outbreaks. This chapter reviews food handler knowledge, attitudes and practices and the research methods used in their study. Infected food handlers spread pathogens to foods and other workers and the factors influencing this are analysed. Food handlers play a role in cross-contamination, an increasingly reported risk. The mechanisms for this and the components of hand hygiene are discussed. Historically, non-compliance has been assessed at the level of individuals. Recent work on food safety culture is examined and individual behaviour is discussed within the context of an organisation and its leadership. Methods and strategies for effective food hygiene training are reviewed.

The main aim of the present work was to study the influence of working conditions and practices of food handlers on physico-chemical and microbiological quality of fresh-cut lettuce salads produced in a catering unit. Twenty one visits were performed, checking all steps from lettuce reception until fresh-cut lettuce salad preparation. Even though the catering unit has implemented an HACCP plan, some non-conformities were detected on personal hygiene practices of the food handlers that should be corrected. Regarding green salad preparation two sanitizing treatments, diluted solutions of acetic acid (vinegar) and chlorine-based tablets, were applied. However, the former treatment should not be used because it did not guarantee food safety of the final product. On the other hand, the recommendations of chlorine-based tablets’supplier must be followed strictly. Regarding chlorine species, only free chlorine was detected. Furthermore, no free chlorine and chloramines were detected in the final product. In conclusion, this work allowed us to establish several practical recommendations to improve the efficacy of the washing + sanitizing steps followed on the preparation of fresh-cut lettuce salads.

The size and complexity of the food industry’s transportation, retail, and food service sectors are immense. Over 16 million Americans are employed in over 1 million retail establishments nationwide, contributing more than $1 trillion to the US economy every year. Similar to growers and food manufacturers, food employees working in food transit, food service, and retail food establishments have a responsibility to use proper food handling practices that reduce foodborne illness risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified five key risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness. These include obtaining food from unsafe sources, poor personal hygiene, inadequate cooking, improper holding of food, and contaminated food surfaces and equipment. Results of studies that have evaluated risk in transportation, retail, and food service operations correlate well with the CDC risk factors. As a result, effective food safety programs must actively control risk by employing time/temperature control, good personal hygiene, cross-contamination control, and effective cleaning/sanitizing programs. Education and changing behavior of food employees are the most important prerequisites for successful risk reduction.

Absorbent personal hygiene products, such as diapers, sanitary napkins, tampons, incontinence products, panty shields, wipes, etc., are mostly single-use items and are designed to receive, absorb and retain body fluids and solid wastes. Significant innovation has been carried out to improve the performance of these products. This chapter discusses recent advances in technologies to improve the performance of hygiene products.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the standards of conduct of individual security employee whose performance plays the main role in the overall performance of the Security Department. Their performance is measured by their conduct as well as their specific job skills. Standards of conduct for the security employee should emphasize basic courtesy toward fellow employees and others, even in the handling of transgressors; responsibility in carrying out duties; fairness and objectivity while respecting the rights of others; a spirit of cooperation; personal integrity, both on the job and in his or her personal life; and a cheerful, positive attitude. The standards related to personal integrity include self-respect, which means dignity and pride in oneself and what one does; honesty in words as well as deeds; cleanliness and personal hygiene; consistency in action and reaction; and fidelity in terms of the careful observance of duties as well as loyalty. The security officer must also observe the highest of standards in terms of right or proper conduct as his poor reputation impinges on the department's reputation. Security employees who exemplify these standards enhance the reputation and the effectiveness of the security function and the Security Department as a whole.

Nonwoven fabrics have traditionally been used in medical applications, but owing to their relatively low cost of production, versatility in incorporating various mechanical properties, disposability, and low lint, which reduces cross-infection and enables high levels of hygiene to be maintained, they have made major inroads in the growing field of healthcare and hygiene applications. This chapter discusses one of the emerging areas of nonwoven applications: personal hygiene. It first reviews key issues of hygiene materials and then discusses the types and properties of nonwoven materials along with applications such as diapers, feminine hygiene and adult incontinence.

A new technology has been developed to control odor and pH in medical and hygiene care absorbent composites. It employs certain inhibitors of enzymes responsible for generation of malodorous substances. Cellulose fiber and airlaid nonwoven substrates served as particularly convenient carriers for some chemicals which can modify the structure of an enzyme and/or block its active site. The concept was effectively used to slow down the fermentation of urea in urine in personal hygiene materials and suppress the emission of ammonia. An additional benefit of the new technology was a control of the pH and maintaining it in a slightly acidic, skin-friendly range. The approach proved to be effective also in suppressing odors associated with menstrual fluid and sweat.

Medical treatments and personal hygiene lead to the steady release of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) into the environment. Some of these PPCPs have been shown to have detrimental environmental effects and could potentially impact human health. Understanding the biological transformation of PPCPs is essential for accurately determining their ultimate environmental fate, conducting accurate risk assessments, and improving PPCP removal. We summarize the current literature concerning the biological transformation of PPCPs in wastewater treatment plants, the environment, and by pure cultures of bacterial isolates. Although some PPCPs, such as ibuprofen, are readily degraded under most studied conditions, others, such as carbamazepine, tend to be recalcitrant. This variation in the biodegradability of PPCPs can be attributed to structural differences, because PPCPs are classified by application, not chemical structure. The degradation pathways of octylphenol by Sphingomonas sp. strain PWE1, ibuprofen by Sphingomonas sp. strain Ibu-2, and DEET by Pseudomonas putida DTB are discussed in more detail.

Bacterial infections have a large impact on public health. Disease can occur at any body site and can be caused by the organism itself or by the body's response to its presence. Bacteria are transmitted to humans through air, water, food, or living vectors. The principal modes of transmission of bacterial infection are contact, airborne, droplet, vectors, and vehicular. Preventive measures have a dramatic impact on morbidity and mortality. Such measures include water treatment, immunization of animals and humans, personal hygiene measures, and safer sex practices. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing concern mandating their prudent use.