CSC Environmental Newsletter: April 2020

Clark Seif Clark

Environmental Newsletter

April 2020

Every day, Clark Seif Clark professionals are deployed across the nation helping both large and small customers resolve health & safety, industrial hygiene, environmental and indoor air quality issues.

At a moment's notice, Clark Seif Clark can send their experts anywhere they are needed. No matter if it's in response to a hurricane, wildfire, flood, tornado or other natural disaster, Clark Seif Clark is ready to help and can respond in no time at all.

Antibiotic Resistance Threats Identified by the CDC and the Importance of Infection Control Procedures and Education

While much of the media's attention has been focused on the novel coronavirus that spread across the globe this year, SARS-CoV-2 is not the only emerging threat. Just before reports of the initial outbreak of COVID-19 last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an update to the agency's first Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States (AR Threats Report) from 6 years earlier.

In the 2019 AR Threats Report, the agency states that more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year and more than 35,000 people die as a result. The document lists the CDC's top 18 antibiotic-resistant pathogens and also includes 3 on the agency's "Watch List." The report excludes viruses and parasites, but does include bacteria and fungi (for this report, the agency uses "antibiotic" to describe antibacterial and antifungal drugs). The categories include urgent, serious and concerning threats, along with the watch list.

Urgent Threats

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter

Candida auris

Clostridioides difficile

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae

Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Serious Threats

Drug-resistant Campylobacter

Drug-resistant Candida

ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci

Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Drug-resistant nontyphoidal Salmonella

Drug-resistant Salmonella serotype Typhi

Drug-resistant Shigella

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae

Drug-resistant Tuberculosis

Concerning Threats

Erythromycin-resistant group A Streptococcus

Clindamycin-resistant group B Streptococcus

Watch List

Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus

Drug-resistant Mycoplasma genitalium

Drug-resistant Bordetella pertussis

"Whether it's the coronavirus or antibiotic-resistant bacteria or fungi, the people typically most at risk are those with a weak or suppressed immune system," said Franco Seif, President of Clark Seif Clark (CSC). "This makes places like hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, nurseries and other facilities at greater risk of illnesses and infections. Infection control procedures in these places need to function at the highest level."

Offering assistance with these challenges are the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) professionals at Clark Seif Clark. CSC provides environmental and infection control education, consulting and testing. Proactive education and prevention can reduce the frequency and severity of illnesses and outbreaks due to microbial pathogens. If an outbreak has already occurred, CSC is available to develop a quick and concise response to address both the anxieties and the tangible issues related to these events. As an educational resource, CSC also recently sponsored a video about the CDC's Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States - 2019 that can be seen here:

CDCs Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States - 2019

To learn more about this or other microbial, environmental, industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com , email [email protected] or call (800) 807-1118.

Monitoring Building Water Systems to Prevent Outbreaks of Legionnaires' Disease

Legionellosis is a respiratory disease caused by a type of bacteria known as Legionella. It includes both Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever, which people can develop by breathing droplets of water from the air that are contaminated with the bacteria.

Legionella is naturally found in in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in man-made building water systems, such as:

Showerheads and sink faucets
Cooling towers
Hot tubs
Decorative fountains and water features
Hot water tanks and heaters
Large plumbing systems

This is why the CDC encourages water management programs in buildings that regularly monitor water quality parameters. Routine environmental sampling for Legionella (i.e., sampling that is performed proactively as part of an effort to reduce risk of Legionella growth and transmission in building water systems, not in the context of an outbreak investigation) is also a way to validate the efficacy of a water management program.

" Legionnaires' disease is a serious, and potentially fatal, type of pneumonia, and 90% of CDC investigations have shown that the vast majority of past outbreaks were caused by problems preventable with more effective water management," said Zahid Iqbal, MPH, CIH and Technical Director at Clark Seif Clark (CSC). "The rate of reported cases has been on the rise in recent years and grown by nearly 9 times since 2000. This is a significant reason why the CDC advocates for water management programs to help reduce exposure risks for building occupants."

Dedicated to helping companies, hospitals, long-term care centers, correctional facilities and other institutions to develop, administer, monitor and test water management programs are the industrial hygiene and environmental professionals at Clark Seif Clark. Their services are also instrumental for identifying the source of an outbreak, if one has already occurred, to prevent further infections.

To disseminate information about Legionella and monitoring building water systems, CSC recently sponsored an educational video that can be seen here:

Legionella & Monitoring Building Water

To learn more about water management programs or other environmental, occupational, indoor air quality (IAQ), building science, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com , email [email protected] or call (800) 807-1118.

About Clark Seif Clark: CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both the public and private sectors address environmental issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering making them the preferred environmental consultants to healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.

In This Issue

Antibiotic Resistance Threats Identified by the CDC and the Importance of Infection Control Procedures and Education

Monitoring Building Water Systems to Prevent Outbreaks of Legionnaires' Disease

Clark Seif Clark (CSC)

800.807.1118

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