Archive for January, 2012

The Center of Infectious Disease Excellence strongly supports Health care Reform

which has been passed by the Obama Administration with gradual implementation.

we support this for several reasons:

1.Most importantly it is better for patients.they will get better and more cost

efficient care

2.Requiring everyone to have health insurance is the humane , progressive

way .It is analogous to Car Insurance .It is the conservative posture.These individuals will be getting health care anyway and if they are not paying into insurance then the restof

us bear all the costs.This  is also very important for illegal immigrants–to bring them into the system in some fashion.I have never encountered a Mexican- American in my

consultative practice who has health insurance.

3.Already the improvements have allowed children to stay on their parents policies until age 26.

4.The doughnut hole costs to the patient are being reduced

5.Robert Brook said in the Journal of the American Medical Association”That with the passage

of theis act and its subsequent implementation the United States enters the

body of civilized nations”.

6.Stupid comments about “socialized medicine” are both ignorant and

untrue.Approximately 50% of all medical care is provided through Medicare /

Medicaid, VA,Public Health Service,Indian Health Service, and the various branches of the US Armed Services.We never hear a word from Tea Party types complaining about Medicare,

VA,or the US Armed services Medical Care.

7.The current US Health Care Non System is expensive and disorganized.We rank about 37

in the world on most outcome measures and are by far the most costly

health care system in the world.

8.The Health Care Reforms will be a great boon for most hospitals and for the Insurance Industry by bringing large numbers of new patients into the system.Medicaid will also increase

and we will need to find creative new ways to hold down the costs there.

9.I have yet to hear a single argument that makes any medical sense as to why

we do not need comprehensive Health Care Reform.Access is both a right and a

privilige.The terms are not mutually exclusive.Government should always be about

securing the greatest good for the greatest numbers of its citizens.

Dr. Smith

First—Thanks to everyone-individual travelers, churches, government,

businesses,colleges for making 2011 a most outstanding year. We are deeply grateful to be able to serve you.

Our Clinic the -Travel and Immunization Clinic of Mississippi is the

only medically directed Travel Clinic with the following outstanding

features.

1.Medical Director with 30 years Travel Medicine Experience-

Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease

A Fellow of the American College of Internal Medicine and the

Infectious Disease Society of American and a Member of the

International Society of Travel Medicine.

2.We are the only Travel Clinic open 40 hours per week and

able to rapidly get our travelers in and out.

3.We stock all needed vaccines and are able to provide

prescription medications–not available at the Health Department

4.Travel Medicine changes daily–individuals who do not do this full time

may not be alert to the rapidly changing world conditions. We monitor

CDC and WHO on a daily basis to bring you the most up-to-date information.

.

5.We have recently joined Shoreland Travel–the leading vendor of

computer generated Travel Medicine information. They integrate both

CDC and WHO and provide State Dept and advisories regarding

social unrest, natural disasters–that might not be available through

CDC WHO booklets.

6.We can work with both individuals or groups and can come to your site and make presentations for larger groups.

7.We are conveniently located at 1040 River Oaks Drive Suite 303 in the river Oaks Professional Building–between Marty’s Pharmacy and River Oaks Hospital.

This is a very safe -well lighted physicians office building with ample parking

and excellent security.

Let us have the opportunity to serve your travel medicine needs.

Call Connie Brinson at 601-936-0706

Dr. Smith

The epidemic continue to stongly rage throughout the country. There are some

encouraging signs of decreasing frequency of these infections within hospitals due

to enhanced infection control measures in hospitals.For 2012.

1.Pregnant women especially those who might have to have a C-Section or at

enhanced risk for serious invasive MRSA infections.These can be entirely prevented

by screening all pregnant women at 36 weeks–at the same time we screen for

Group B. Streptococccus.

2.All patients with any types of risk factors for MRSA who are planning to have

elective surgery shoudl be screened for MRSA.Increased risk factors would include-

Diabetes,Health Care Exposure,Day care exposure,Previous history of staph

disease or colonization in patient or family,extreme obesity- BMI of 40 or greater.

3.Individuals who develop MRSA in a community setting should be rapidly

referred to our clinic or to a clinic with comparable experience. This is especially

true if the indvidual has had more than 1 MRSA infection or there is a second

member of the family with an infection. These infections rapidly spread within

families and all family members need to be checked and decolonized if MRSA + to

STOP the micro-epidemic.The boils are a nuisance but in rare occasions the staph can spread

to bone, lung or blood.                            Dr. Smith

This weeks Morbidity and Mortality Report describes the outbreak

of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis –from exposure to farm animals in display

barns at the North Carolina State Fair. This reinforces the danger of”Petting

Zoos” as a vehicle of transmission of E. coli.These animal petting “stations”

rarely have adequate handwashing facilities.AVOID.

Hello to everyone–Our first post of 2012.Check out a New York Times article of

December 27,2011 by Mark Bittman.Over the past several years multiple food borne

illness outbreaks have occurred involving a wide variety of foods –for example,

peanut butter, pot-pies, sprouts,ground turkey. Bittman’s article refers to a study

carried out in Phoenix Arizona.The research center studied 80 brands of ground

beef,pork,chicken and turkey.the findings are startling:

1.47% contained Staphylococcus aureus.

2. 52% were resistant to at least 3 classes of antibiotics

3.If you are buying pre-ground products there is at least a 25% chance that  you

may be consuming a drug resistant bacteria that may either immediately cause

disease or set up a colonization state and later a drug resistant infection.

Implications and thoughts regarding the above.

1.Never buy ground meat products that are not ground on site.

2.Always assume that vegetables , and meat products are contaminated with bacteria.

3.Practice good hand washing when dealing with the above and with decontamination \

of your work surface  and utensils.

4.The biggest factors driving this explosion of contaminated food are :

         a.Centralization of food processing into giant operations which supply

large portions of the country.

        b.Inappropriate use of antibiotics in Animal feed. 80% of the antibiotics

used in this country are used in animal feeds. A shocking and indefensible number.

Many researchers feel that the very high percentage of MRSA in

Mississippi can be traced in part to the very high utilization of  antibiotics in

the chicken industry.   Dr. Smith