Micro Musings - Hardy Diagnostics Blog

Drug resistance on the rise… A Sinister Salmonella Strain

February 24, 2022February 25, 2022 hardydiagnosticsadmin

Salmonella Infantis Globally, Salmonella causes illness in 93.8 million people and causes approximately 155,000 deaths each year.(1) Within the United States alone, Salmonella is responsible for 1.35 million infections, 26,000 of which are severe enough to warrant hospitalization and over 400 deaths.(2)Infection occurs after ingesting more than 50,000 bacterial cells from contaminated food or water with symptoms appearing from…

Micro Musings

SARS-CoV-2, Omicron is now dominant, but…
Are More Variants Coming?

February 10, 2022February 10, 2022 hardydiagnosticsadmin

How dangerous are the BA.2 and BA.3 sub-variants compared to the Omicron BA.1 that we already know? South Africa has one of the most robust public health systems in the world, carefully monitoring their SARS-CoV-2 case load, which has been dominated these last few months by the Delta variant. In recent months, however, South Africa’s case…

Micro Musings

Can our gut microbiome help to overcome Covid-19?

January 31, 2022January 31, 2022 hardydiagnosticsadmin 1 Comment

Probiotics found to assist in restoring normal immune function… COVID-19 disrupts normal bowel flora SARS-CoV-2 infection induces an aggressive inflammatory response which is strongly implicated in the cause of multi-organ dysfunction in some patients.(3) As a result, disease severity is likely caused not only by viral infection, but also an extreme host immune reaction. Patients…

Micro Musings

Sushi and Sashimi – Are They Safe to Consume?

January 11, 2022January 7, 2022 hardydiagnosticsadmin

Sushi and sashimi are a complex meal to prepare and distribute due to the nature of multiple lightly prepared vegetables and raw meats, which may harbor various pathogens.

Micro Musings

INULIN – Do the many benefits outweigh the discomfort?

December 29, 2021December 23, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

Do food labels tell the full story of what consumers are eating? In the U.S., many citizens may be unaware of how much inulin they may be consuming on a daily basis. As a result, individuals who consume inulin may suffer from digestive discomfort without knowing the true cause.(1) On many food labels, there is…

Micro Musings

Self-Destructing Mosquitoes: A new way to combat malaria and other mosquito vector diseases.

December 15, 2021December 15, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

CRISPR technology used to control the fourth biggest infectious disease killer…

Micro Musings

Aromatherapy Spray Found to be Deadly

November 30, 2021November 30, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

Fatalities associated with imported product

Micro Musings

Beware of Canine Campy!

November 23, 2021December 9, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin 2 Comments

In the United States, Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of diarrhea, affecting 1.5 million U.S. residents every year.(1) Approximately 30% of Campylobacter strains have decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin) or macrolides (e.g., azithromycin), the antibiotics commonly used to treat infections, which poses a serious threat to public health.(2)In August 2017, the Florida…

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Micro Musings

What’s all the hyphae about?: Sustainable fungi-based plastic alternatives

November 8, 2021November 30, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

Plastic is invaluable to the scientific community from Petri plates to syringes and almost everything in between. Scientific research alone accounts for approximately 1.8% of global plastic production.(1) With the COVID-19 pandemic the need of the scientific community is increasing due to the increased need for plastic used for PPE, plastic tubes, pipets, etc.(2) While…

Micro Musings

The Tick-Borne Powassan Virus

October 20, 2021October 20, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

More deadly than Lyme Disease… In 1958, a five-year-old boy from Powassan, Ontario, Canada presented to a children’s hospital complaining of dizziness; his parents also described tremors of his left arm. Electroencephalogram readings showed a widespread disturbance in the patient’s brain. The patient’s condition began to rapidly decline, and within six days he died. Portions…

Micro Musings