- Hawaii Poised to Become the First State to Adopt a State Microbe — Yes, you read that right! Hawaii is likely to become the first state to designate a state microbe. Aside from being so cool and nerdy all at once, this new state symbol will likely draw much needed attention to laboratory science. I see this conversation happening on couches across Hawaii as residents hear of this news: “What’s a microbe? I don’t know… Google it. *Pause for Googling* Wow, this is so cool! Laboratories are awesome! I should pay closer attention in science class! Wait… how do you pronounce Nesiotobacter exalbescens anyway?”
- The Portland Press Herald ran a two-part series on the Salmonella outbreak associated with Hannaford supermarkets. Part 1 lays out the situation and the initial observations about the case. Part 2 gets into the really interesting stuff — how they came to determine a link to Hannaford stores in several states. It presents a great picture of how PulseNet works to detect foodborne illness clusters around the nation. In the end, 20 people from seven states were infected with Salmonella Typhimurium. Luckily the work of public health detectives meant the outbreak stopped there.
- India’s First Kids Flash Mob Dance — World TB Day — So this is technically a “What We’re Watching” piece, but it still works. Last Saturday (March 24) was World TB Day. India has been in the news recently because of drug-resistant TB that has been spreading there. Given that not-so-great news, it was incredibly refreshing to see this group of kids join together to dance their tails off in an effort to raise awareness about TB. Make sure to watch until the end… STOP TB! STOP TB!
Related articles
[…] What We’re Reading (aphl.org) […]