Blog Archive for November, 2009
Video: Police Combat Spit With Spray
Albuquerque Journal
November 30, 2009
Spit. Blood. Urine. You name it, and some angry suspect has tried to fling it on police officers. As many as 15 officers are exposed to some sort of bodily waste each week, and several Albuquerque police officers have contracted hepatitis from such assaults, Albuquerque police safety officer Alton Adams said. APD is trying to combat the problem. The department is spending more than $15,000 to equip its 1,100 officers with a disinfectant pocket spray. The spray, MyClyns, contains super-oxidized water, sodium chloride, sodium hypochlorite and hypochlorous acid. The chemicals are common in bleach and other disinfectants. “Our officer safety is first and foremost to us,” said Albuquerque Deputy Chief of Police Michael Callaway, who was spit on several times as a young officer. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department also is considering buying the spray.
Police Departments Prepare Regional Remedy should Flu Strike
Angeljean Chiaramida
November 13,2009
TheDailyNews.com
What would happen to the emergency needs of the public if an epidemic or catastrophe sickens police officers and shuts down local police stations?
Who responds to the roadside emergency 911 call if the local department’s officers are all out with the H1N1 flu?
With flu, swine and seasonal, striking in historic proportions, decimating school populations and other establishments, the notion isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound. Realizing the hazard, regional police chiefs have begun working together to come up with a plan to cross town lines and help each other.
“This is a discussion of ‘what if,’” said Georgetown police Chief James Mulligan. “For example, what would happen if all my people were sick and my building shut down because it was contaminated? It could be from a pandemic of the H1N1 flu or any catastrophe. A fire or an oil spill could shut us down, too. The idea is to formulate a regional plan to deal with the possibilities.”
These Days, a Sneeze is not just a Sneeze
Shari Roan
November 6,2009
LAtimes.com
If “achoo!” makes you jumpy these days, you’re not alone. The swine flu pandemic has made people much more reactive when they hear or see someone sneeze, according to a new study. It found that public sneezing heightens people’s fears about germs and even other, totally unrelated, health hazards.
Psychology researchers at the University of Michigan stationed an experimenter in a busy campus building and instructed her to sneeze loudly as students passed by. Researchers then gave a survey to some of the students that asked them to describe their perceptions of an average American contracting a serious disease, having a heart attack before age 50, or dying from a crime or accident. The students who had just witnessed someone sneezing perceived a greater chance of falling ill, suggesting that the sneeze triggered a broad fear of all health threats, not just ones linked to airborne germs.
Florida Cops have a New Weapon to Fight Germs
By Gary Taylor
Novermber 6, 2009
Policeone.com
The latest weapon carried by Sanford police officers doesn’t fire bullets and wouldn’t do much damage if they hit you with it.
But the device they now carry in their shirt pocket sprays a mist that might protect the officers in the event they are exposed to harmful bacteria or viral germs.
The agency spent a little more than $2,400 to equip all of its police and community-service officers with MyClyns First Response Personal Protection devices after Chief Brian Tooley learned about them at a Florida police-chiefs conference.
Ryan White Notification Law Restored
By Susan Nicol Kyle
Novermber 4, 2009
Firehouse.com
Responders have revived legislation that will permit notification of personnel exposed to HIV or other serious illnesses.
On Friday, President Obama signed the Ryan White legislation that includes the provision allowing hospitals to notify personnel about certain exposures within 48 hours.
When the bill was revised in 2006, the section allowing hospitals to tell first responders if their health could be in jeopardy was eliminated. The EMS community was not asked about the measure, and it was dropped.
Since then, EMS officials have been on a mission to get it reinstated.
Masks keep you from Spreading Illness
By Elizabeth Landau
Novermber 4, 2009
CNN.com
In Mexico City, the government ran out of surgical masks after handing them out to one of every five residents.
Manufacturers and pharmacies in Europe are also reporting a surge in demand for face masks. And a Texas-based surgical mask producer says it’s ramping up to meet demand and expects a shortage of masks.
But their real value seems to be in keeping people who are already ill from spreading the virus, rather than protecting healthy people, experts said.