The University of Maryland School of Public Health recently published a study in the journal, Environmental Health Perspectives. The goal of the study was to search for microbes in 4 common brands of American cigarettes.  Fifteen different classes of bacteria and a broad range of potential pathogens were detected in all of the cigarette samples.  90% of all samples detected these familiar nanobugs: Acinetobacter, Clostridium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia , Klebsiella, Burkholderia and Bacillus. Over the years, studies have shown as association between smoking and an increased risk of lung infections.  However, this is the first study to show that cigarettes themselves could be the direct source of exposure to a wide array of potential pathogens among smokers and other people exposed to secondhand smoke.  The specific public health implications of this study are unclear and further studies are needed to determine if the bacteria present is cigarettes actually causes respiratory infection.  It is also interesting to read other studies that detected more bacterial pathogens (disease-producing microbes) in the oral cavity of smokers and the children of smokers compared with non-smokers and their children. In fact, smokers have been shown to be 18 times more likely to harbor bacterial pathogens in their mouths than non-smokers.

These findings don’t really surprise me – they just reinforce my healthy choices to: remain a non-smoker, to avoid breathing secondhand smoke and to avoid kissing smokers.  Maybe holiday parties should differentiate mistletoe for smokers and non-smokers.

Last week we had a request from and Lincoln, NE mother for a DVD that plays the animations of the nanobugs as they appear in the menagerie on the website She wants to use this DVD to educate and entertain her children in the van/SUV.  What a great idea – to make use of that transport time for learning about the nanobug characters and their good or bad influence on our health.  I now have visions of families moving about town singing the nanobugs songs and “rapping” with Hepatitis A.  Then add a nanobugs card collection and you’ve got children engaged in independent learning about microbiology.  We are quickly creating the requested nanobugs DVD and will offer it on the website store next week.  But on CyberMonday – November 30^th through December 7^th – we will provide a free nanobugs DVD to customers who order a card collection.  Just click on “contact us” on the website (immediately after you place your order) and say “send me the nanobugs DVD with my card collection”.  Let the nanobugs help regain your family focus upon health and wellness – and have some laughs and smiles while your at it!

I can offer some of my logic and the rationale I used to develop my personal H1N1 infection prevention strategy.  I am attempting to sleep more.  The human immune system function is enhanced by rest and it is less effective if one is dealing with endless days and too much stress.  So how do we eliminate or even reduce stress?  Compromise on as many things as possible – at least for a few months.  Cut the number of activities in your day so you can end it early and get more sleep.  Some argue – they don’t have time to sleep.  Well, if and when you get sick, you will have to sleep then.  Personally, I would rather sleep well than sleep sick.  And since I have affirmed this increase in sleep as a major element in my strategy – I am relieved of any guilt about limited productivity.

Hydration is a key to the effective functioning of mucous membranes so increasing my intake of water is a critical element in my plan.  I start the day with a smile upon awakening and then drink a glass of water – to make up for the insensible water loss during the night with breathing and sweating.  A glass of water before or with each meal helps hydration and compensate for the increased urination that goes with my intake of green tea throughout the day. 

Green, white and black tea are great antioxidants and help control my appetite. 

I drink Kefir every day (“plain” is better than sweetened varieties).  Kefir is a source of probiotic bacteria and enhances the immune system.  Adequate protein in my diet is important because antibodies and white blood cells are constructed from protein. Lots of fruits and veggies – real food – whole foods – are essential.  I add small quantities of real organic lemon juice, grapefruit juice, or other unsweetened citrus juices.  I end the day with chamomile tea to help me sleep well and counteract all the green tea I consumed.  A multivitamin with plenty of vitamin C and D adds extra insurance. 

Plenty of fresh air – walking the dog and the use of exercise equipment as a substitute on days of inclement weather – will help dilute and expel invading pathogens.  Smiling, laughing, singing playing my recorder – even for brief periods throughout the day will keep my mood positive and contribute to feelings of wellbeing.

Now, you have probably read through my plan looking for some expensive or dramatic prevention tools, medicines or medical consultation and ended up disappointed to find only that same old advice you hear every year during “cold and flu season” – get plenty of rest, eat right, drink plenty of fluids and exercise.

Sorry.  I think it is a tried-and-true strategy and it is based on promoting optimal functioning of these wonderful bodies we have been given.  You got a better idea?

Advice from CDC: take time to get a flu shot.  Evidentially, the reason given my many people for not getting vaccinated is the time issue as well as access if your employer doesn’t offer the shots. Well, here is a nice program at the local drug store to overcome those obstacles -unless you are intentional about neglecting vaccination and will find any excuse to avoid the shot….then I could suggest the nasal route of administration with FluMist.  That is offered, too.   

I am off to bed early tonight.  It is my tradition to follow the vaccination with a good night’s sleep.  Knowing that the immune system works best when the body is sleeping, I hope to get the antibody production off to a good start tonight. 

To help you remember him, West Nile Virus says,” I’ll get to you any way I can, from infected bird to mosquito, to man.”   Check out Maisy's video blog on this topic:   http://www.nanobugs.com/activities/videos/maisy-west-nile-video.php

Have a great Summer and stay away from the West Nile Virus!

Hardly anyone in the general public knew what the acronym- SARS- meant in 2003 but it became the common reference to the illness - not “civat cat flu” or “Canadian flu” or “North American Flu”.  With Avian flu – we had to reinforce that transmission is not related to eating chicken and poultry.  We have our work cut out for us – communicating the facts and educating the public.  This is an opportune time to teach cough and sneeze etiquette.  (Make it easy and fun with the Nanobugs Training Shirt - in the store on www.nanobugs.com)

The purpose of closing schools is essentially to limit the exposure of students and teachers to potentially sick students.  But when people see  footage of dramatic cleaning of the school environment - it leads them to think that influenza A is environementally spread.  Swine flu and Avian flu are influenza A.  They are spread by coughs and sneezes. Course, hand hygiene is always a good strategy to interrupt person to person transmission.  I hope you will keep this situation in perspective.  Be patient and allow the epidemiologists to do the proper investigations and make their decisions based on the information they collect about the microbes and the confirmed cases. 

Nanobugs, inc has developed an STI Prevention Program for Teens and a powerpoint program to attempt to teach the appropriate microbiology related to the 9 STI pathogens.  We maintain that if individuals (especially teens) are informed about these microbes – call it “profiling” the pathogens – they will be more likely to engage in prevention behaviors (either abstinence or avoidance). 

The STI nanobugs can relieve most of the social pressure surrounding this topic in the classroom.  However, because of the restriction of time in the classroom to cover this section of the health curriculum, it is often covered superficially and combined the topic of pregnancy prevention. So I want to try something different: I am planning to take the STI nanobugs to the social networks this month to subtly inform people as they explore the profiles of these “microbes with attitude”.  My hope is that teens especially will assimilate the information more effectively on the internet than in the conventional classroom setting.

Well, did this discussion take your mind off the topic of this day: taxes? I hope so – STI’s are worse than taxes – no matter what tax bracket you are in – STI’s know no financial boundaries – they infect the rich and the poor and the uninformed.         And next year – I hope they will call this STI Prevention Month – we need move beyond awareness – to prevention.