Recent Posts
Europe is on a mission to eradicate HIV/AIDS by 2030. Significant strides have been made in that direction, but the population is still in the midst of an epidemic. Nearly 160,000 new HIV diagnoses were reported in the WHO European Region in 2017, with over 130,000 of those diagnoses occurring in Eastern Europe alone. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe have ...
An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease has been declared by the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As of this post, there are 421 cases, including 241 deaths, attributed to this outbreak. This is the second outbreak to hit the North Kivu province this year, and this latest report comes only a week after the official declaration that the previous outbreak had ended. On November 26th, the ...
More than 100 million adults in the United States are living with the reality of diabetes or prediabetes. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of 2015, 30.3 million Americans (9.4 percent of the U.S. population) have diabetes, and another 84.1 million have prediabetes. Outside of healthcare facilities, approximately 9 million sharps users will administer at least 3 billion ...
The CDC has confirmed 116 cases of a rare polio-like disease called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in the U.S. this year as of the date of this post. Found in 31 states as of Monday, over 90% of the cases involve children under the age of 18. For the most part, those affected were experiencing a mild respiratory illness before contracting the disease. What is AFM? Acute flaccid myelitis affects the nervous system, specifically ...
When it comes to the disposal of regulated medical waste, there are many standards that have been put into place by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in an effort to protect healthcare workers from unnecessary exposure to potentially infectious materials. In 1991, OSHA created the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. This standard defines regulated medical waste and clarifies basic ...
The handling and disposal of medical waste is a reality for any dental facility, with multiple regulations in place to ensure that the ecological impact of its disposal is as minimal as possible. With over $996 billion pharmaceuticals sold worldwide annually, it’s imperative that the disposal of the resulting medical waste is handled properly and efficiently. Both medical professionals and the public are largely unaware of ...
In previous articles, we have identified the varying types of medical waste produced in dental offices and some ways of lowering the costs for the disposal of that waste. This article will address hazardous waste, hazardous waste disposal specifications, and the regulations surrounding hazardous waste generators. Hazardous Waste Defined Hazardous waste is defined as waste with “properties that make it dangerous, or capable of ...
National Take Back Day On October 27th of this year, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted its 16th National Take Back Day for prescription drugs. In cooperation with local law enforcement agencies across the nation, 914,236 lbs. (457.12 tons) of expired and unused prescription drugs were collected and properly disposed. This brings the total amount of prescription drug waste collected with this program ...
In previous articles we have identified the different types of medical waste produced in dental offices and some ways of lowering the costs for the disposal of that waste. This article will address hazardous waste specifically, and the regulations surrounding its disposal. Hazardous waste can be found in any physical state; liquid, gaseous, or solid. The type of disposal depends entirely upon the physical state the waste is ...
Shop For Disposal Options Medical waste is generated daily by thousands of facilities across the United States. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that, “Of the total amount of waste generated by health-care activities, about 85% is general, non-hazardous waste comparable to domestic waste. The remaining 15% is considered hazardous material that may be infectious, chemical or radioactive.” (1) Regardless of label, all ...
