Bacteria

Beaches in Maryland and across the U.S. are closing more often, the result of high bacteria levels caused by rain washing pollution from suburban sprawl into waterways, a new report says. Two of the unhealthiest beaches in the country last year were on the Chesapeake Bay, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council report card on swimming areas. Hacks Point, a small community beach on the shores of the Bohemia River in Cecil County, was one of six beaches nationally labeled a "beach bum," because bacteria levels exceeded federal health standards 60 percent of the times it was tested by the government last summer, the NRDC report says.

Even as officials at Harford Memorial Hospital sought to identify new cases of Legionnaire's disease, experts say outbreaks of the infection are far more common nationwide than many people believe and could be controlled."

Officials at Harford Memorial Hospital began hyperchlorinating the hot water system yesterday to ensure that no traces of Legionnella bacteria remain in the wake of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak that has sickened five people, leaving three dead.Linden E. Witherell, a water treatment consultant hired by the hospital, said the move gives an extra measure of protection now that the hospital has heat-treated the hot water system, which preliminary tests pinpointed as the likely source of the infection.

A fourth person died yesterday of Legionnaires' disease at Harford Memorial Hospital where a hot water tank is believed to have been the source of a recent outbreak.Noting state confidentiality laws, officials declined to identify the patient. But a spokeswoman for a Havre de Grace nursing home last week confirmed that the patient was a woman in her 80s who became ill at the nursing home and was sent to the hospital.While giving no other details, Bob Netherland, a spokesman for Upper Chesapeake Health Systems Inc., which runs the Havre de Grace hospital, said the patient was admitted there on June 28 with pneumonia and Legionnaires' disease symptoms.

An elderly Kent County man was in critical condition yesterday after contracting salmonella poisoning at a dinner held by a volunteer fire company, health officials said. At least 16 other people were sickened by the bacteria.Authorities would not identify the elderly man but said he was admitted Wednesday to Kent & Queen Anne's Hospital in Chestertown. "He's more critical today than yesterday, and we're very concerned," said Dr. John A. Grant of the Kent County Health Department.The dinner was held as a fund-raiser by Millington Fire Company March 20, one of four such meals the company prepares each year.

In Baltimore CityHigh level of bacteria causing Legionnaires' found at rehab centerAfter detecting a high level of the bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease in a water tank, Maryland Rehabilitation Center on Argonne Drive sent home 120 disabled clients who live there during the week, and canceled classes for 180 others yesterday and today.No one has contracted the disease, an acute and sometimes fatal form of pneumonia. The bacteria were detected during a routine check of the water system, and authorities planned to flush the building's water system last night to kill the bacteria.

Here's another one for the "what to get the person who has everything" list: etc -- the world's first electric tongue scraper. Wait -- this is serious.The American Dental Association recommends daily tongue cleaning as a necessary part of home oral hygiene. "Cleaning the tongue once a day, in conjunction with dental products containing chlorine dioxide, is the best way to combat bad breath," says Baltimore dentist Robert A. Jacobson.Although tongue scrapers have been on the market since 1951, the Oralgiene company has developed the first electric tongue cleaner.

Some of the bacteria that cause Legionnaire's disease survived a series of cleanings at a Towson office building, and state health officials are now deciding whether the building should be treated again.Karen Stott, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Department of Health, said the 700 state and county employees who work at the Investment Building near the intersection of York and Dulaney Valley roads should not fear for their safety."It's still not considered a threat," Stott said. "The levels [of Legionella bacteria]

A case of Legionnaire's disease diagnosed Monday night at Union Memorial Hospital prompted officials to purge the hospital's water system yesterday and search for the source of the bacteria.The patient, who officials would not identify, was being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit yesterday. The person apparently picked up the bacterial infection while being treated at the hospital, according to Wayne Campbell, chief of infectious diseases at the North Baltimore institution.Campbell said that physicians found no evidence that anyone else in the hospital has been affected.

As many as 20 Walkersville households have reported symptoms that might be related to sewage-contaminated tap water, although no positive link to a recent sewer-line break has been established, Frederick County health officials said yesterday.Ellen B. Ristorcelli, director of nursing for the county Health Department, said her staff is collecting stool samples to test at a state laboratory for the presence of one of two microscopic parasites -- giardia or cryptosporidium.Contamination concerns stem from the June 18 break that spilled 900,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ground and contaminated the source of drinking water for more than 7,000 people in the Walkersville area.

Barry Marseglia of Solomons writes: "I've been catching rockfish in the mid-bay region with red sores and red rashes all over the skin. These sores have an odor. Also, in the Calvert Cliffs area, I've caught rockfish with a yellow tint. ... If there is a problem on the skin of the fish, it seems to me it's also in the cells or the flesh of the fish." Mark Matsche, a fish health biologist at the Cooperative Oxford Lab, replies: "Some striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay have a bacterial disease called Mycobacteriosis.

The same pollution afflicting the Chesapeake Bay's fish and shellfish poses human health risks to people in the region, from bacteria and harmful algae in the water to contaminants in fish and drinking water, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says. In a report released today, the Annapolis-based environmental group said the incidents of infection and illness among people who swim and wade in the bay's waters warrant greater government action to protect the public from pollution. "Dirty water doesn't only have an economic impact, it's got a human health impact as well," said William C. Baker, foundation president.

Harford crash victim identified as N.Y. woman State police have identified the passenger killed Saturday in a single-vehicle accident in Harford County as Lisa C. Francois, 33, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Francois was pronounced dead at the scene after the accident about 2:30 p.m. Saturday in which a 2006 Honda Civic traveling in the left lane of Interstate 95 South near Route 543 crossed two lanes into the right shoulder and overturned several times. The driver, Jocelin Drew, 55, and a front-seat passenger, Amos Headley, 67, both of Roosevelt, N.Y., were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with injuries that police said were not life-threatening.

The season of sniffing, coughing and sneezing is upon us, and what more motivation do we need to be diligent about washing our hands? Hand washing is one of the most important things people can do to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses, whether you're at home preparing food or out at the mall, says Jennifer Caudle, director of the family medicine section in the division of General Internal Medicine at Sinai Hospital. "It is the holiday season and people are out and about eating and shopping, and they are touching lots of things, lots of times."

Anyone who's ever driven behind a truck hauling chickens knows to expect a powerful odor and even a few feathers in its wake. But poultry carriers also apparently trail an airborne plume of potentially harmful bacteria, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers. The results suggest that motorists and those who live along roads traveled by chicken trucks may be exposed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the researchers say. They urged further study and possibly changing transport methods in areas of intense poultry production such as the Delmarva Peninsula.

Beach closings and warnings about unhealthy water declined last year in Maryland and across the United States but remain a problem, an environmental group reported yesterday. Closures and swimming advisories at the state's 68 Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean beaches were down 23 percent last year, compared with 2006, according to the report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Overall, bacteria levels at Maryland beaches failed federal health standards 7 percent of the time in 2007, down from 12 percent in 2006.

Agency honors green workers The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund today will host "One Year Green," a celebration of MAIF's environmental achievements. MAIF employees who have demonstrated a commitment to making eco-friendly solutions routine in their daily operations will be honored with a "Green Thumb" award, and MAIF's Earth Day pledge tree will be dedicated on the grounds of MAIF's headquarters in Annapolis. "MAIF is committed to working toward a more environmentally friendly business model," said M. Kent Krabbe, executive director for MAIF.

Higher education level might mean lower BMI When it comes to a healthy body weight, education matters. Highly educated men and women in the U.S. have a lower average body mass index than their less-educated counterparts, according to a new comparison of international data. Conversely, highly educated men and women in poor countries where malnutrition is prevalent tend to have a higher BMI than less-educated people. In short, education appears to confer a healthy buffer against obesity, or malnutrition, depending on the country of origin.

Mother was right. Our shoes are filthy, and we'd be smart to leave them at the door, like they do in Japan. Even microbiologist Charles P. Gerba was surprised to discover what we track into the house on our footwear. "I'm starting to make myself paranoid," he said. "It seems like we step in a lot more poop than I thought." Gerba is a professor in the University of Arizona's Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science. He's spent years studying how humans spread microbes around and "share" them wherever they go. But when he was asked by the Rockport Co. whether he thought throwing shoes in the washer made hygienic sense, he told them, "I don't know.

Teens as Problem Solvers, the youth leadership project of the Volunteer Center for Anne Arundel County, will receive a $1,000 award to launch a service-learning project for Global Youth Service Day next weekend. TAPS is one of 100 Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award winners chosen by Youth Service America and funded by the State Farm Companies Foundation. TAPS members and other volunteers will assemble and install three rain barrels at the Chesapeake Children's Museum, 25 Silopanna Road in Annapolis, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.