Demonstrating the persistent antibacterial efficacy of a hand sanitizer containing benzalkonium chloride on human skin at 1, 2, and 4 hours after application.

BACKGROUND: Use of hand sanitizers has become a cornerstone in clinical practice for the prevention of disease transmission between practitioners and patients. Traditionally, these preparations have relied on ethanol (60%-70%) for bactericidal action. METHODS: This study was conducted to measure the persistence of antibacterial activity of 2 preparations. One was a non-alcohol-based formulation using benzalkonium chloride (BK) (0.12%) and the other was an ethanol-based formulation (63%) (comparator product). The persistence of antibacterial activity was measured against Staphylococcus aureus using a technique modification prescribed in American Society for Testing and Materials protocol E2752-10 at up to 4 hours after application. RESULTS: The test product (BK) produced a marked reduction in colony-forming units at each of the 3 time points tested (3.75-4.16-log10 reductions), whereas the comparator produced less than 1-log10 reduction over the same time. The differences were highly significant. DISCUSSION: In the course of patient care or examination, there are instances where opportunities exist for the practitioner's hands to become contaminated (eg, key boards and tables). Persistent antibacterial activity would reduce the chances of transfer to the patient. CONCLUSIONS: These results show a major improvement in persistent antibacterial activity for the BK formulation compared to the comparator ethanol-based formulation.

Teen Pregnancy in Mississippi: A History and Analysis of Recent Legislative and Governmental Attempts to Address Different Aspects of this Issue in Mississippi.

Background Mississippi has one of the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates in the nation. From 1991 to 2014 the birthrate to Mississippi teens decreased by 55 percent, which ranks number 35 in the rate of decline (versus 61% nationally). However, in 2014 Mississippi's teen birth rate still kept it at number 48 out of 50 states.' Mississippi has implemented Healthy Teens for a Better Mississippi as a Governor's initiative and best practice programs to reduce teen pregnancy in the state of Mississippi. Several bills have been passed into law that address various aspects of teen pregnancy prevention. Methods Recent legislation implemented from 2011 to 2015 was reviewed and summarized. Results and Conclusions Teen births have decreased 55 percent from 1991 to 2014. It is not possible to point to any one factor that can explain this reduction. It is likely that many factors have affected this change in teen pregnancy and birth rates. It is still too early to be able to assess the effect of the various laws that have been passed to address teen pregnancy.