Bacteria

Boaters, anglers and anyone bold enough to swim in Baltimore's troubled harbor will soon be able to get timely information about whether they're risking an upset stomach or infection from splashing in water fouled with sewage leaks and other pollution. Starting this month, the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, Tina Meyers, plans to post results online every other week from regular sampling cruises she's making to check conditions in the Inner Harbor and the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.

Parts of three waterways have been opened to shellfish harvesting after tests showed declines in bacteria there, the Maryland Department of the Environment announced Monday. An area of the Wicomico River on the Eastern Shore, at the border between Wicomico and Somerset counties, is now approved for commercial harvests. Waters below Bay Point had been closed because of high bacteria levels in the water. The headwaters of Broad Creek in Talbot County have been conditionally approved, meaning that oysters and clams can be harvested there except after a heavy rainfall.

Six people were infected with Campylobacter by raw milk from the Family Cow dairy store in Chambersburg, Pa., including three in Maryland, the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Friday. The bacteria causes diarrhea, nausea and vomiting and can progress into a more serious bloodstream infection, usually two to five days after exposure. The state agency and the health department in Pennsylvania are advising consumers to discard any product bought from this farm since Jan. 1. The implicated milk comes in plastic gallon, half gallon and pint containers and is sold directly to consumers on the farm and at drop off points and retail stores in Pennsylvania.

State health officials confirmed Wednesday the presence of Legionella bacteria in the water at Plim Plaza Hotel in Ocean City . Officials have also announced three new cases of Legionnaire's disease among hotel guests, in addition to the three cases announced last week. One elderly out-of-state resident has died. The bacteria was found in several water samples taken from the hotel, which is closed for the season, according to officials from the Worcester County Health Department and the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, who have been investigating.

People loooooove to complain about dog poop under foot. Understandable. Wait till they find out that wayward exrement is also turning up in the air. You can't escape it! According to a new study by University of Colorado Boulder, most of the wintertime airborne bacteria in Cleveland and Detroit is fecal matter. And most likely, it's the fecal matter of dogs. I'll repeat that -- it's not just that poop is turning up in the air sporadically in these cities -- it's MOST of the bacteria there.

Within days of the E.coli outbreak in Germany that officially ended this week, scientists at the University of Maryland Institute for Genome Sciences began cracking the genomic code of the bacteria responsible for infecting thousands and killing dozens. Information about all the genes that make up the bacteria from these scientists and others around the globe was soon offered online at no cost to doctors treating those infected, possibly saving lives, as well as to epidemiologists looking for the source of the pathogen.

The beach at Glen Isle, located in the South River, was reopened by Anne Arundel County health officials for the 4th of July weekend. Officials with the county's department of health said Friday that samples show that bacteria are at acceptable levels for swimming, according to a statement from the agency. Swimming and other contact with the water was banned on June 13 due after high levels of bacteria were found in water samples, which could make people sick, officials said.

Anne Arundel County health authorities warned the public Wednesday to stay out of the water at four beaches or recreational areas because of high bacteria levels. People are urged not to swim, ski or have direct contact with the water at Herald Harbor in Crownsville, at Lake Claire in Cape St. Claire, at Magothy Manor in Arnold and at Glen Isle in Riva. Regular testing of the county's recreational waters detected high bacteria levels in samples taken on Monday. Glen Isle has had a swim warning since June 13, though, based on earlier tests.

Anne Arundel County health officials warned Monday against swimming, water skiing or any other contact with water at Glen Isle in Riva because the water there could make people sick. Water samples taken last Tuesday and Thursday at the South River beach contained high bacteria levels, which officials said could be caused by a variety of factors, including rainfall, tidal action and wildlife. Anyone who does touch water there should wash with soap and warm water immediately, officials say, and also wash any clothing that got wet or splashed.

Before the Johns Hopkins University president gives 1,300 graduating students their congratulatory handshake on Thursday, volunteers will give them a cautionary dollop of hand sanitizer. "What can I say? We're a health-conscious university," said Dennis O'Shea, spokesman for Hopkins. Since the influenza epidemic of 2009, gel disinfectant has been spreading around schools like strep on throats. Yet there's little scientific evidence that harmful bacteria are passed through a casual squeeze of the hands during commencement.