9NEWS at 4 p.m. 1/26/17. DENVER – A potentially deadly respi…

9NEWS at 4 p.m. 1/26/17. DENVER – A potentially deadly respiratory illness is making its rounds in Denver. Respiratory Syncytial Virus blocks the airways of people who have the virus. It can be deadly for children 2 and under because their airways are so small it makes it difficult for them to breathe, lowering their oxygen levels. “It is the number one cause for hospitalization for younger kids in general in America,” Dr. Margarita Guarin said, a pediatric pulmonologist at Rocky Mountain Pediatric Pulmonology. —– Respiratory syncytial virus is an enveloped RNA virus. RSV most commonly causes lung and airway infections in infants and young children, but the infection can occur in people of all ages. The virus spreads through tiny respiratory droplets and can survive for up to 5 hours on fomites.  Contact with contaminated fomites in day care centers and crowded households is often the mode of transmission.  QUESTION:  Which one of the methods listed below has NO potential for destroying RSV on fomites, such as counter tops, toys, and doorknobs?  

May 25, 2017 (CNN) Local and state health officials say pota…

May 25, 2017 (CNN) Local and state health officials say potato salad made with home-canned potatoes is to blame for the more than 20 cases of botulism in Lancaster, Ohio, last week. All of those who are sick ate at a potluck dinner at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church on April 19. Health officials tested leftover food samples obtained from the trash and interviewed ill patients to determine what common food all of them ate. Local health officials stressed the importance of using a pressure canner or cooker when canning foods at home because the pressure kills the germ that causes botulism. —————————— QUESTION:  Health officials tested for the presence of Clostridium botulinum [toxin] in the leftover food.  Apparently, the canning process used was not adequate to destroy C. botulinum [spores] on the potatoes.