Test That Distinguishes Between Bacterial or Viral Infections

From the pages of CSI: Miami... a commonly used forensic chemical called luminol to identify traces of blood at crime scenes has been modified to be used in a novel medical test that can help differentiate a viral infection from a bacterial infection.

Why is this important?

Not uncommonly, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between a bacterial infection which is treated with antibiotics from a viral infection which is NOT treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, in the healthcare system, too often, antibiotics are given if an infection is present whether viral or bacterial which is leading to multi-drug resistant infections like MRSA.

Well with this test, physicians can potentially use it to determine whether antibiotics should be provided or not. Such a test may also be reassuring to patients who desire antibiotics, but can be told with confidence that it is not necessary and at worst, dangerous.

The way this test works is by identifying the characteristic glow "signature" after luminol is applied to a suspect infection. If it glows a certain way... it's a viral infection. If it glows in a different way... it's a bacterial infection.

For those scientifically inclined and curious, the glow is due to a byproduct of the body's defenses fighting off infection called "Reactive Oxygen Species". The luminol reacts with this byproduct creating a glow.

Of note, the test is not yet available, but perhaps soon???

Reference:
Differentiation between Viral and Bacterial Acute Infections Using Chemiluminescent Signatures of Circulating Phagocytes. Anal. Chem., 2011, 83 (11), pp 4258–4265
DOI: 10.1021/ac200596f Publication Date (Web): April 26, 2011

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Tongue Piercing Infections

It seems that tongue piercing is slowly becoming more popular than ever... and correspondingly, there seems to be even more tongue infections than ever before due to the piercing.

If tongue piercing MUST happen, it is recommended that you avoid studs made of metal which increases the risk of infection, at least according to a recent study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

The study demonstrated that studs made of steel might promote the development of a bacterial biofilm leading to increased risk of infection whereas those made of polytetrafluoroethylene or polypropylene are inert to such bacterial colonization.

I should also add that metal studs may cause an allergic reaction leading to painful tongue swelling/itching, especially in those with metal allergies. This is similar to the skin reactions that some people experience with cheap metal jewelry.


Reference:
Tongue piercing: the impact of material on microbiological findings. J Adol Health online, 2011

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Bad Breath Found to be Related to Types of Bacteria Rather Than Bacterial Amount

Researchers in Japan investigated whether bad breath was caused by the types of bacteria found in people's mouths as opposed to the overall amount of bacteria. In their research which was published in the May 2010 journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology they found that there exists four types of bacterial community compositions. The two parameters for bad breath (the concentration of volatile sulfur compounds in mouth air and the organoleptic score) was noticeably lower in one of the groups. In this group that had very low bad breath, there were significantly higher concentrations of Streptococcus, Granulicatella, Rothia, and Treponema than in the other groups.

These results clearly correlated the global composition of indigenous bacterial populations with the severity of oral malodor. Call this the "good" bacteria.

There results also suggest alternative strategies to improve bad breath by trying to modify the bacterial composition rather than pursuing treatments geared towards elimination (or decreasing overall amount) of bacteria which do not work.

Of note, there was another (earlier) study that found that eating yogurt improved bad breath which goes along with this idea of altering bacterial composition instead of eliminating it to improve bad breath.

Of course, all this assumes a person does not have cryptic fetid tonsillitis for which tonsillectomy or cryptolysis would be of greater benefit.

Read the research here.

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Not Only Can House Dust Cause Allergies, They Harbor Bacteria That May Lead to Asthma

House dust already has a bad reputation for causing allergies and sino-nasal congestion misery. Now there's another reason to hate dust...

In the April 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers have found bacterial populations in household dust may determine whether or not a child living in that home develops asthma.

In the paper titled "Environmental Determinants of and Impact on Childhood Asthma by the Bacterial Community in Household Dust" researchers found "that the dominant bacterial populations in household dust are significantly influenced by environmental variables such as domestic animals and day care attendance. Further, the dominant bacterial populations are significantly correlated to asthma-related outcomes, supporting the hypothesis that the types of microorganisms present in homes in early life may play key roles in the development of childhood asthma."

Read the research abstract here.

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NYT: Blowing the Nose May Actually Make You Sicker???

On February 9, 2009, the New York Times published an interesting story regarding what happens if you blow your nose too hard. The story "The Claim: Never Blow Your Nose When You Have a Cold" reported that nose blowing generated enormous pressure — “equivalent to a person’s diastolic blood pressure reading,” — and propelled mucus into the sinuses every time. It was unclear whether this was harmful, but added that during sickness it could shoot viruses or bacteria into the sinuses, and possibly cause further infection.

The story is based on research done at the University of Virginia and published in the journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases in 2000. Read the research here.

Based on this research, it does seem wise to avoid nose-blowing, but if one must, to use decongestants and blow only one nostril at a time gently. Using saline flushes would be helpful as well.

Read the story here.

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