CSC

Apr 24

US study suggests COVID-19 pandemic may be accelerating antimicrobial resistance

By CSC Blog

Analysis of antimicrobial resistance in 271 US hospitals finds higher rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in both COVID-19 patients and SARS-COV-2 negative patients admitted during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic

Reports and Proceedings

EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Among those hospitalized during the pandemic, both COVID-19 patients and those tested for SARS-COV-2 but negative, had higher rates of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections compared to patients hospitalized before the pandemic, according to a study evaluating the pandemic’s impact on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 271 hospitals across the USA, to be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal (23-26 April).

The study, by Dr Karri Bauer of the pharmaceutical company MSD, a trade name of Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA and Dr Vikas Gupta, of the medical technology company Becton Dickinson (BD) and colleagues, also found that drug resistant infections were significantly higher in hospital-onset cases during the pandemic.

An estimated 1.2 million people worldwide died in 2019 from antibiotic-resistant infections [1], and this number is predicted to increase ten-fold by 2050 [2]. The COVID-19 pandemic presents many challenges for appropriate antibiotic use and stewardship, and there have been studies reporting that the pandemic was associated with AMR secondary infections, possibly due to the increase in the use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients and disruptions to infection prevention and control practices in overwhelmed health systems. While conclusive evidence is lacking, these signals underscore the importance of continued monitoring of the impact of COVID-19 on AMR rates.

To provide more evidence, researchers conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort analysis of all adults (aged 18 years or older) admitted to 271 hospitals across the USA before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, who had spent at least one day in hospital and had a record of discharge or death.

Patients were categorized according to when they were admitted: before the pandemic (from July 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020), or during the pandemic (from March 1, 2020, to October 30, 2021), and based on their COVID-19 status (with a positive SARS-CoV-2 result defined by positive PCR or antigen test within 7 days prior to admission or during hospitalization). All admissions with at least one AMR infection (defined as a first positive culture for select gram-negative or gram-positive pathogens resistant to antibiotics) were recorded.

Researchers assessed AMR rates per 100 admissions before and during the COVID pandemic and examined whether drug-resistant infections were acquired in the community-onset setting (defined as a culture collected less than 2 days after admission) or in the hospital-onset setting (more than 2 days after admission).

In total, 1,789,458 patients were admitted to the hospital in the pre-pandemic period and 3,729,208 during the pandemic. The number of patients admitted to the hospital with at least one AMR infection was 63,263 in the pre-pandemic period and 129, 410 during the pandemic.

The analyses found that the AMR rate was 3.54 per 100 admissions before the pandemic and 3.47 per 100 admissions during the pandemic. However, patients who tested positive or negative for COVID-19 had higher levels of AMR than patients before the pandemic—4.92 per 100 admissions and 4.11 per 100 admissions, respectively (see table in notes to editors).

For hospital-associated infections, the AMR rate was 0.77 per 100 admissions before the pandemic and 0.86 per 100 admissions during the pandemic, and highest at 2.19 per 100 admissions in patients with COVID-19. When looking at community-onset infections, the AMR rate was 2.76 per 100 admissions in the pre-pandemic period, and 2.61 per 100 admissions during the pandemic.

“These new data highlight the importance of closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on antimicrobial resistance rates,” says Dr Bauer. “It is particularly worrying that antibiotic resistance has been rising during the pandemic in both SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients. Hospital-acquired infections are a major concern, with antimicrobial resistance rates significantly higher during the pandemic than before.”

Despite these important and timely findings, the authors note that additional evaluation of the pandemic’s impact on antimicrobial resistance is needed. “As healthcare capacity remains at the forefront of everyone’s mind, it will be critically important to keep a pulse on the growing impact of drug-resistant infections,” said Gupta. “This type of data and surveillance will help healthcare leaders identify needed resources to support antimicrobial stewardship programmers – and also support more detailed and sophisticated forecasting of future trends and outbreaks.”

This study is limited to US hospitals and evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on AMR outside the US is warranted.

All requests for interviews with the study authors please contact Deb Wambold in the MSD Media Office T) +1 (215) 779-2234 E) deb_wambold@merck.com

Alternative contact in the ECCMID Press Room: Tony Kirby T) + 44(0)7834 385827 E) tony@tonykirby.com

Notes to editors:

[1] Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis – The Lancet
[2] no-time-to-wait-securing-the-future-from-drug-resistant-infections-en.pdf (who.int)

This press release is based on oral presentation 4960 at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). All accepted abstracts have been extensively peer reviewed by the congress selection committee. There is no full paper at this stage, but the authors are happy to answer your questions. The research has not yet been submitted to a medical journal for publication.

COI STATEMENT

Conflict of interest statement: KAB, KPK, PAM, and LF are employees and shareholders of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA; LAP is an employee of Pfizer, Inc; and KCY, JW and VG are employees of, and also own stock in, Becton, Dickinson & Company.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Mar 22

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Highly Recommend

By CSC Testimonials

I would highly recommend Crime Scene Cleaners for your biohazard cleanup needs. John was responsive and showed understanding under very difficult and tragic circumstances. He and his coworker were able to quickly and efficiently remove the materials and clean the area. And their charges were very fair and reasonable. Again I highly recommend them.

-Thomas Hill

Mar 22

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Fair Pricing & Great Communication

By CSC Testimonials

The Crime Scene Cleaners helped us clean out a unfinished home after years of raccoons living in the structure. The pricing was fair and a good value, especially considering the mess that was being removed. Jeremy was responsive in communications with me and easy to work with. The crew was incredible, they worked quickly and efficiently. They went over and above what we were expecting. They found long lost items of great sentimental value. They focused on saving what important instead of just quickly throwing it in the trash. The crew John, Alex, Matt & Chris were kind and understanding and we really enjoyed working with them. Overall it was a great experience and would highly recommend the Crime Scene Cleaners.

-Mary Sheridan

Mar 22

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Jason was very helpful

By CSC Testimonials

Jason was very helpful and came out to help my Aunt with her issue personally. He fixed it on the spot when he was just supposed to be there for an estimate. So grateful people like him and his company exist.

– Monika Chiles

Feb 15

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Everything You Need To Know About Distracted Driving

By CSC Education/Information, Safety

Would you drive a distance equivalent to an entire length of an American football field at 55 mph (89 km/h) blindfolded?

Even though many people will answer the question above with an empathic no, the reality is that most of us do exactly that when we text while driving. Consequently, in the United States, approximately eight people die every day in car crashes involving distracted driving.

Indeed, phones have an essential and valuable function in cars, from providing maps, driving directions, podcasts, music, and emergency calls, but they can also be a menace that could potentially lead to chaos on the roads.

To create consciousness around the dangers of distracted driving, this article focuses on the consequences of distracted driving and how simple solutions can alleviate the situation. It emphasizes the reality that distracted driving does not only involve using the mobile phone while driving but also other factors like eating, engaging passengers, or changing the dials on the car radio.

What Counts as Distracted Driving?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines distracted driving as “any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.”

The NHTSA is an agency of the US federal government under the Department of Transportation. It defines its mandate: “Through enforcing vehicle performance standards and partnerships with state and local governments, NHTSA reduces deaths, injuries and economic losses from motor vehicle crashes.”

From the NHTSA definition above, it’s clear that while cell phones are a major contributor to distracted driving, they are not the only culprits.

Types of Distractions

The website that provides tools and resources for financial planning, Bankrate.com, identifies four types of distracted driving, all of which can lead to potentially fatal consequences:

Cognitive distractions: Happen when your mind drifts away from the activity of driving. Such interruptions can include daydreaming or being too upset to concentrate on the task of driving.

Visual distractions: Take your eyes off the road and make you momentarily sidetracked and stop looking ahead on the road. Sometimes people get involved in accidents while watching scenes of other accidents on the road.

Auditory distractions: Include voices or sounds that attract your concentration and shift your attention from safe driving. They also include holding conversations in the car or even listening to music.

Manual distractions: Involve taking your hands or one of your hands off the wheel to perform a non-driving activity such as taking a sip from a drink, eating, or using an electronic device.

Do all types of distractions bear the same amount of risk?

Experts indicate that while all types of distractions significantly increase the risk of a car crash, some increase the risk more than others. For instance, a distraction such as texting, which requires a combination of cognitive, visual, and manual resources, would make a car crash 23 times more likely to happen.

Distracted Driving by the Numbers

The NHTSA reports that distracted driving claimed 3,142 lives in 2019. Here are some distracted driving statistics showing how bad the problem is:

Cellphone Use

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reports that out of the 220 million Americans that subscribe to wireless services, an estimated “80% of those subscribers use their phones while driving.”

Texting while driving is particularly fatal, at least as far as statistics are concerned. Suppose the estimates from the NCSL are accurate. In that case, it doesn’t come as a surprise that approximately 400 fatal car accidents every year are directly attributed to simultaneous texting and driving.

Teenage Drivers and Number of Passengers

Two key risk factors drive the number of fatal accidents caused by distracted driving: age and number of passengers.

In a research note published in April 2020, the NHTSA indicates that “Eight percent of drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted.” It adds, “This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of the fatal crashes.”

The second risk factor is the number of passengers. The chances of a teenage driver getting killed in a car crash increase with every additional passenger in the car, up to 44% with one passenger, doubling when there are two passengers, and quadrupling when there are three or more passengers.

Therefore, it can be suggested that reducing the number of passengers in a car driven by a teenager could significantly reduce the number of fatal crashes.

Distracted Driving Deaths

Even though we focus on drivers and their passengers, distracted driving kills many non-occupants, including cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians. For instance, the NHTSA reports that in 2019, distracted drivers were involved in the deaths of 566 non-occupants.

Statistics show that males are involved in more fatal accidents related to distracted driving than females. The NHTSA notes that “Sixty-nine percent of the distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes were males as compared to 73 percent of drivers in all fatal crashes in 2019.”

Behaviors Related to Distracted Driving

Driving demands a significant portion of our mental resources. Research indicates that it places a huge demand on our cognitive abilities, such as our vision and motor skills and our visual-spatial orientation and integration functions.
In driving, mental resources are required to monitor other cars on the same road, process signs and traffic rules, and make quick cognitive decisions.
While cellphone use is possibly the most common distracting behavior, a few more common behaviors also comprise distracted driving: eating, drinking, and smoking.
Other behaviors include intricate conversations with passengers, grabbing items from the back seat, applying makeup, focusing too much on the rearview mirror, fiddling around with GPS or navigation systems, and using electronic devices in the car.
Distractions and related behaviors also use the same mental resources needed for safe driving. An activity such as texting or turning to have a quick conversation with a passenger significantly limits the required alertness for safe driving, even if it takes mere seconds.

The Consequences of Distracted Driving

Death is, of course, the most extreme consequence of distracted driving. Families are left to rue the loss of their loved ones, their breadwinners, and other important individuals in their communities. Others have their lives permanently altered or have to remain in special care for the rest of their lives.
Kira Hudson, a victim of crashes caused by distracted driving, tells a story that puts a human face to distracted driving. She talks about how she was left to endure pain, deep regret, and even anger after two accidents involving distracted driving.
Hudson says she was arguing with her boyfriend on the phone while driving. A series of incidents lead to her crashing the car while still holding her phone. She is quoted saying, “It doesn’t look like it, but I was very fortunate in my crash.” She adds, “I’m still here today. I didn’t hurt anyone else. If I would have hurt someone, I don’t think I would have had the same outlook as I do now.”
You can watch Hudson tell her story in the video below.

How to Be Hands-Free While Driving

The best solution to avoid distracted driving is to focus solely on the task of driving. Of course, this is easier said than done, but if you listen to stories such as the one told by Hudson above, you will know that being disciplined enough to concentrate on the task of safe driving could save lives.
To deal with the challenge of distracted driving, many automobile manufacturers now integrate Bluetooth technology into the car’s infotainment systems. After an initial setup, these systems automatically connect with your cellphone as soon as you enter the car, allowing you to control the phone’s functions without holding the phone in your hand while driving.
A few other aftermarket products are available that significantly reduce the amount of distraction. One good option is to get a cup holder phone mount.
Other products like the car air vent phone holder provide the best angle because you can adjust the phone mount part 360 degrees. This means that you don’t have to adjust your driving position at any time while you’re using the phone for tasks like navigation.
Here are some more tips on using your cellphone while driving:

Before you begin driving, set up everything you need, like navigation, GPS, and your entertainment system.
If you are not alone, always designate someone to text or make and receive calls on your behalf.
Avoid text messaging at all costs, even if it means placing your phone in the trunk of your car before you start driving.
When it’s safe to do so, pull over for serious or important calls that demand your total concentration.

Be Always Alert to Arrive Alive

Remember, no phone call or message is more important than your life or the lives of passengers and other road users. If that phone call has to be made, find a safe place to stop your vehicle and make the call or send the message without unnecessarily exposing yourself and others to danger.

Oct 01

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Beginning of the End? Some Experts Predict COVID-19 Will Recede

By CSC Blog

September 23, 2021

Frank Diamond

Suppose children get vaccinated, and no new variant emerges. In that case, new infections will drop from 134,000 a day to about 9,000 a day by March, according to 1 scenario. As a result, deaths would fall to about 100 a day.

It’s not like some health care experts didn’t see this coming. Of course, no one but no one will say it’s a lock—not after all the nasty surprises COVID-19 has sprung on us—but some indicators point to a steady and steep decline in SARS-CoV-2 over the fall and winter.

The better of the predictions hinge on 1 development and 1 nondevelopment. The former being the creation and launch of a COVID-19 vaccine for children (which could happen in the next few weeks), and the latter being the non-appearance of any new COVID-19 variant as infectious as the Delta variant fueling the current surge.

About 134,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day have been reported over the last week, about a 10% drop from the past 2 weeks. And while infections are rising in 27 states, they are falling in 23, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Mortality rates of 33% over the last 2 weeks (about 2000 people a day) tempers this hopeful news, but deaths are a lagging indicator.

One of the rosier scenarios comes from the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, which uses data from 9 different research groups. Justin Lessler, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, associated with the hub, tells NPR if children get vaccinated. Then, new infections will drop from 134,000 to about 9,000 a day by March, with no new highly infectious variant emerging. As a result, deaths would fall to about 100 a day by March.

Source: COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub

Kevin Kavanagh, MD, a member of Infection Control Today^®’s Editorial Advisory Board, says that “many were talking” about the chart above, but not everybody had the same interpretation.

“The graph appears to be an old model which was entirely not correct,” Kavanagh tells ICT^®. “It predicted that COVID-19 would be gone by this August. This did not happen. Instead, we got Delta. Predicting the future of COVID-19 is like predicting the stock market. Unfortunately, you have two unknowns; one is future human behavior, and the other is viral mutations. The wide range of future projections from IHME illustrates this dilemma.”

Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)

Cécile Viboud, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center, tells STAT that new cases by the end of November will be down to about where they were in late June and early July: between 7500 to 15,000 per day.

She tells STAT that “we’re probably going to stay there because there is quite a bit of immunity in the population.”

However, both Lessler and Viboud do not seem willing to bet their house just yet that the worst is over.

Vibound: “That assumes that no new variant comes in. Because if you get a new variant that either has higher transmissibility or immune escape potential, then we will see a resurgence.”

Lessler: “Any of us who have been following this closely, given what happened with Delta, are going to be really cautious about too much optimism. But I do think that the trajectory is towards improvement for most of the country.”

Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD

Sep 22

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Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibodies

By CSC Blog

By Don M. McNulty ~ Summary of NIH Covid-19 Treatment Guidelines
Released August 4, 2021

What is Monoclonal Antibody Treatment?

With all the Covid fears continuing to swirl around us today, we must stay on top of all the avenues of treatment afforded the American people. Crime Scene Cleaners who serve Missouri and Kansas for all things biohazard, including Covid cleaning and disinfection processes, are constantly searching for official clinical studies and research to pass along to the public to keep you well informed in this ever-changing environment about Covid infections and the variants.

The FDA Authorized the Emergency Use of the Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody treatment. The treatment is intended for mild to moderate Covid-19 infections in nonhospitalized patients at high risk for progressing to severe disease and hospitalization.

There are two brands approved Casirivimab plus Imdevimab: These are recombinant human monoclonal antibodies that bind to non-overlapping epitopes of the spike protein RBD of SARS-CoV-2.

Sotrovimab: This monoclonal antibody was initially identified in 2003 from a SARS-CoV survivor. It targets an epitope in the RBD of the spike protein that is conserved between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.

The FDA also updated the EUA for Casirivimab plus Imdevimab as post-exposure prophylaxis for specific individuals who are at high risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection and, if infected, are at high risk of progressing to serious illness. See the https://www.fda.gov/media/145611/download for details.

Sep 04

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Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 vs. SARS-CoV-2 to Discover new treatments

By CSC Blog

Crime Scene Cleaners is always seeking to provide the public with a Complete Line of Services in Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup, Biohazard Management, and Professional Cleaning Sanitizing for Bacterial and Viral Infections. We Service the entire States of Missouri and Kansas.

We also strive to not only keep ourselves up-to-date on the latest research we try to provide the public with this cutting-edge information on Covid Treatments.

The coronavirus disease (COVID19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2), threatens global public health with total cases and deaths reaching over 212 million and 4.44 million, respectively.

Though vaccination efforts are underway in most countries, there are still limited options for treating COVID19. Now, researchers at Penn State designed a new COVID19 therapy that uses a defective synthetic version of the SARSCoV2 virus to interfere with the actual virus’s replication.

Published in the journal PeerJ Life & Environment, the study highlights the use of the defective virus that replicates three times faster due to its shorter size, interfering with the replication of the real virus. The defective synthetic version could be used as a selfpromoting antiviral therapy, wherein the synthetic version replicates faster, the virus will assist in its own demise.

Defective genome replication

Versions of a viral genome with large deletions frequently emerge from most ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses. Defective genomes lacking essential coding sequences can still replicate and packaged into virions in the presence of active viruses.

The full viral genome produces the essential proteins for replication, which can be exploited by defective genomes that retain the ability to bind to these proteins. Hence, these defective genomes are considered parasites of the full length virus since they compete for replication. Since they are shorter in length, they can replicate faster than their fulllength parental genome in cells.

Common coronaviruses may contain these genomes, called defective interfering (DI) genomes. In SARSCoV2, long deletions have been reported, and DI genomes have been shown to emerge by recombination caused by sequence microhomology.

The Study

In the study, the researchers created short synthetic DI RNAs from parts of the wildtype SARSCoV2 genome to examine whether they could replicate in coinfected cells and be packaged into virions. They quantified the relative amounts of the DI and WT genomes in the cells over periods, showing the interference of the DI genome with the wildtype genome (WT).

Synthetic defective interfering viruses. (A) Three portions of the wild-type (WT) SARSCoV2 genome were used to create a synthetic defective interfering genome (DI1) and a shorter version (DI0) comprising only parts of the two terminal portions. Numbers delimiting the portions refer to positions in the SARSCoV2 genome. The first position is mutated (A →C) in both DI1 and DI0. Open rectangles show the position of the probes and primers used. (B) To produce synthetic DI particles, DNA constructs corresponding to the RNA sequence of DI1 or DI0 were transcribed into RNA in vitro using T7 RNA polymerase and transfected into VeroE6 cells that were then infected with SARSCoV2. The supernatant from these cell cultures was used to infect new cells.

The study results showed that the defective synthetic genome replicates three times faster than SARSCoV2 in coinfected cells and interferes with it, reducing the viral load by about half in 24 hours. No differences between the packaging efficiencies of the two genomes were found, as transmission rates were the same. Hence, it can be concluded that the reduced amount of WT genomes was due to interference as a result of the faster replication of the DI genome. Significantly, amounts of DI genome so small they are undetectable via qRTPCR can interfere with the WT virus.

DI1 reduces the amount of SARSCoV2 by half; it replicates 3 times faster; and it is transmit ted with the same efficiency. (A) Growth rates (absolute amount relative to the amount at 4 h) of WT in controls (gray) and in coinfections with DI1 (blue) or DI0 (green); growth relative to controls at the same time point; and detail at 24 h. (B) Transmission efficiency of WT (blue) and DI1 (yellow) in coinfections: the amount, measured by qRTPCR, immediately before passaging divided by the average amount mea sured almost immediately (4 h) after passaging (using the supernatant to infect new cells 24 h after initial infection). DI0 was detected inside the cells but not in the supernatant. (C) Growth rates (absolute amount relative to the amount at 4 h) of WT in controls (gray) and in coinfections (blue); growth relative to con trols at the same time point; and detail at 24 h. Growth rates (absolute amount relative to the amount at 4 h) of WT (blue) and DI1 (yellow) in coinfections; growth relative to that of WT in coinfections at the same time point; and detail at 24 h.

Indeed, DIs could be used as antivirals since they replicate faster in cells and interfere with the real virus. Meanwhile, the team explained that as the DI genomes increase in frequency among the virus particles pool, the process becomes more effective until the decline in the amount of the wild type SARSCoV2 leads to the demise of both the virus and DI. A similar approach can be used in bacterial infections and cancer.

”"We have established a proof of principle that a synthetic defective interfering SARSCoV2 can replicate in cells infected with the virus and interfere with its replication," the researchers concluded in the study.

Jul 16

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Suicide and Its Warning Signs of Risk

By CSC Blog

Suicide is such a dirty word to most people; they won’t even utter the word. But, the other day, an acquaintance of mine here in Kansas City, let me know that his son decided to check out of this world earlier this year. Like most people I know, when they receive news such as this, they say how sorry they are for the loss and quickly change the subject because it is very uncomfortable to have a conversation.

It’s just one of the reasons we have survivor support groups. No one wants to talk about it because they don’t understand it. Frankly, I doubt I could find experts who study in this field of psychology who would say they fully understand it.

When I first met my friend well over a year ago and learned of my work, we had a long conversation about my work in trauma and death scene remediation — what most people call Crime and Trauma Scene Cleanup — including suicide.

During this meeting a year later, he acknowledged that as he was going through this with his family, he turned his thoughts to our previous conversation and drew strength on some of what we discussed that day.

One of the biggest lessons I learned over the years is not struggling to comprehend

why someone would commit suicide?

Imagine if you had a chance to speak with those who commit suicide, they might tell you why they did this to themselves. Then, being a loving relative, friend, or concerned individual, every excuse they may present to you as the driving force behind that act, you would be able to counter it with a way out or an answer to the problem. The trouble is that most of these victims won’t hear you, and they won’t or can’t hear you because they are too focused on their perceived pain.

In my class, I show a video on YouTube called “An Awareness Test,” using basketball players passing a basketball between each player wear white —the audience is instructed to count how many passes occurred. So, the audience focuses on the task and comes up with the correct answer. Then the voice-over answers the initial question and adds, “but did you see the moon-walking bear?” Next, they fast rewind the video and play it forward in slow-motion. Indeed, there is a Moon-walking bear who strolls through the players on the video, and my audience is always astounded.

Then I tell my students why many times, no one pays attention to the logic you might present. They are too focused on the pain to hear what is being said to them.

Think back to a time when you slammed your fingers in a door or hit your thumb with a hammer. You probably danced around the room, otherwise known as writhing in pain, cussing, or yelling; you have not focused on anything else but the point of physical pain. But, honestly, I could put a Moon-walking bear strolling through the room, and you wouldn’t even know it.

I’ll give one more example. A middle-aged wife and mother came home to find her husband had committed suicide in their bedroom while she was away grocery shopping. According to her friend at the home when I arrived, she had no inkling those thoughts ever came to his mind. To say she was devastated would be an understatement. When I arrived with my crew, all this poor woman could do was cry. There were only a few moments of silence between her sobbing as she tried to catch her breath. It was one of the most challenging meetings I have been through in my career. She was so hurt she really wasn’t present to what was going on around her. Fast-forward about nine months later, and while I was out shopping, she and her friend came up to me. Her friend introduced me to this wife, explaining that I was the one who came to the residence that day to clean up the bedroom.

Now, why am I telling you this story? Although this woman thanked me for being there in her time of need, she has zero recollection of that day or the following two weeks after — her friend added and several more weeks, her memory is sketchy at best. My point being — mental pain and anguish can override any sanity or logic you would expect an individual to have.

It would be best if you recognized in this whole situation — Suicide is an irrational act, and you and I are trying to understand it with a rational mind. However, a rational mind cannot understand an irrational act.

Those of us who can grasp this concept find mental relief while processing our grief and moving forward.

As stated above, there is an entire industry built around trying to understand suicide fully, its causation, warning signs, and hopefully, one day, finding the elusive magic that would prevent and solve the issue. I doubt it exists, but one can dream of it.

The following is curated from the American Association of Suicidology. You can locate them at suicidology.org
If you need help or know someone who does, you can call 1-800-356-5395 to get in touch with counselors 24/7.

Here are the Warning Signs of Acute Suicide Risk

The following are not always communicated directly or outwardly:

-Threatening to hurt or kill themselves, or talking of wanting to hurt or kill themselves; or
– Looking for ways to kill themselves by seeking access to firearms, available pills, or other means; or
– Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide, when their actions are out of the ordinary.

Additional Warning Signs:

Increased substance (alcohol or drug) use
No reason for living; no sense of purpose in life
Anxiety, agitation, unable to sleep or sleeping all the time
Feeling trapped — like there’s no way out
Hopelessness
Withdrawal from friends, family, and society
Rage, uncontrol anger, seeking revenge
Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities, seemingly without thinking
Dramatic mood changes
Giving away prized possessions or seeking long-term care for pets

Crime Scene Cleaners Kansas City coverage area includes the States of Missouri and Kansas. Although others may see this article outside our coverage area, I will only provide the rate of Suicides. The information below is based on the latest information compiled by the US Federal Government and Prepared by Christopher W. Drapeau, Ph.D., and John L. McIntosh, Ph.D. for AAS, and covers the years up to 2019 and 2020. All rates are stated as Suicides Deaths per 100,000 in population. Please note that these figures include the entire State. Therefore, when investigating a small, more rural area, the number may be skewed and inappropriate for those areas.

The Overall National Suicide Rate is 14.5/100,000. This number represents 47,511 per year.

Missouri Suicide Rate is 18.6/100,000 — representing 1,141 deaths per year — and ranks 15th in the nation.

Kansas Suicide Rate is 18.0/100,000 — representing 523 deaths per year — and ranks 18^th in the nation.

For the complete list, Facts and Statistics – American Association of Suicidology

Crime Scene Cleaners of Kansas City www.crimescenecleanerskc.com is a company that helps families and businesses by remediating traumatic death scenes and also offers services for Hoarding Houses, Unsaniatary Dwellings, and Infection control services.

If anyone you know needs our services in Missouri or Kansas, we stand ready to help restore the structure. We service residential, apartments, commercial, industrial, and construction industries 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

May 25

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Direct-acting antiviral to treat COVID-19

By CSC Blog

An international team of scientists from the Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ) at Griffith University and from City of Hope, a research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases in the US, has developed an experimental direct-acting antiviral therapy to treat COVID-19.

Traditional antivirals reduce symptoms and help people recover earlier. Examples include Tamiflu, zanamivir and remdesivir.

This next-generation antiviral approach used gene-silencing RNA technology called siRNA (small-interfering RNA) to attack the virus’ genome directly, which stops the virus from replicating, as well as lipid nanoparticles designed at Griffith University and City of Hope to deliver the siRNA to the lungs, the critical site of infection.

“Treatment with virus-specific siRNA reduces viral load by 99.9%. These stealth nanoparticles can be delivered to a wide range of lung cells and silence viral genes,” said co-lead researcher Professor Nigel McMillan from MHIQ.

“Treatment with the therapy in SARS-Cov-2 infected mice improved survival and loss of disease. Remarkably, in treated survivors, no virus could be detected in the lungs,” Professor McMillan said.

Professor Kevin Morris, a co-lead researcher from both City of Hope and Griffith University said: “This treatment is designed to work on all betacoronaviruses such as the original SARS virus (SARS-CoV-1) as well as SARS-CoV-2 and any new variants that may arise in the future because it targets ultra-conserved regions in the virus’ genome.”

Professor McMillan added: “We have also shown that these nanoparticles are stable at 4°C for 12 months and at room temperature for greater than one month, meaning this agent could be used in low-resource settings to treat infected patients.”

The results suggest that siRNA-nanoparticle formulations can be developed as a therapy to treat COVID-19 patients, as well as used for future coronavirus infections by targeting the virus’s genome directly.

“These nanoparticles are scalable and relatively cost-effective to produce in bulk,” Professor Morris said.

“This work was funded as an urgent call by Medical Research Futures Fund and is the type of RNA medicine that can be manufactured locally in Australia,” Professor McMillan said.

The research has been published in Molecular Therapy.

Below is the curated article by https://nano-magazine.com/news/2021/5/18/direct-acting-antiviral-to-treat-covid-19

Source – phys.org

Image: Shutterstock – ker_vii

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