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Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has very high rates of hospital-related transmission among healthcare workers (HCWs), mandating the need for careful intensive care unit (ICU) designing, optimization of staff resources, implementation of vigorous infection control practices, environmental disinfection, meticulous sample collection, and criteria for staff quarantine. Most of the ICUs are not designed to deal with airborne viral infections and require redesigning for the safety of HCWs and patients. Infection control practices related to the prevention of spread of COVD-19 are unique and are well described. The training of staff on infection control practices reduces the infection rate among HCWs significantly. Adequate staffing not only helps in infection control but also prevents burnout of the staff. In case of infection to HCW, the staff must be assessed systematically, and institute's infection control committee should guide for isolation period as well as return to work based upon standard recommendations. This article focuses on infection control and prevention measures required in ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disposable filtering face piece respirators (FFRs) are usually not approved for routine practice of decontamination and reuse. However, such practice of decontamination and reuse may be needed only as a crisis capacity strategy to ensure continued availability. The current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic would help us enlighten about more effective and efficient ways of decontamination and reuse. Based on the limited research available, ultraviolet irradiation, vapors of hydrogen peroxide, and moist heat showed the most promising potential methods to decontaminate FFRs. This article summarizes available research about decontamination of FFRs before reuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statement of the Problem The efficacy of various decontamination protocols to reverse the effect of blood contamination after acid-etching may depend on the type of adhesive. Objectives To compare the effect of blood contamination and various decontamination protocols on acetone-based and ethanol-based total-etch adhesive systems. Methods Occlusal dentin of 64 human molars was etched and contaminated with fresh human blood. The samples were assigned to two groups as per adhesive used: Prime & Bond NT (acetone-based) and Adper Single Bond 2 (ethanol-based) and then subdivided into eight groups: (1) control, (2) no decontamination, (3) water rinsing, (4) re-etching, (5) sodium hypochlorite, (6) sodium hypochlorite/sodium ascorbate, (7) hydrogen peroxide, and (8) ethanol. Adhesives were applied and specimens were prepared for μTBS after composite buildup. The data were subjected to analysis of variance followed by post hoc Tukey test. Results Blood contamination significantly reduced μTBS of both the adhesives. Re-etching and NaOCl/Asc were effective in restoring μTBS to the level of control for both the adhesives whereas NaOCl was effective only for Prime & Bond NT. Conclusion Both re-etching and NaOCl can be used for regaining μ TBS of blood-contaminated acid-etched dentin. NaOCl/Asc yields better results than NaOCl alone, specifically for ethanol-based adhesive. Clinical Significance Knowing the adverse effects of prolonged acid-etching, other alternatives for decontamination of etched dentin after blood contamination should be considered. NaOCl alone or NaOCl followed by sodium ascorbate may prove to be good alternatives. These choices also may determine the type of adhesive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that decontamination plants installed at wells throughout West Bengal, India are failing to reduce arsenic in local drinking water to safe levels. According to epidemiologist Dipankar Chakraborti of Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, of 18 arsenic-removal plants monitored over a two-year period, none reduced arsenic levels below the maximum safe value stipulated by the World Health Organization. The high levels of arsenic in well water used for drinking and irrigation came to light in the early 1990s, after outbreak of skin disease and cancers in West Bengal and Bangladesh.