Acanthamoeba Microscopic Free-living Amoeba

Acanthamoeba is a microscopic free-living amoeba that can cause infections rare but serious eye, skin and central nervous system.

The amoeba is found all over the world in the environment in water and soil. The amoeba can be transmitted to the eye through the use of contact lenses, cuts or sores on the skin or be inhaled into the lungs. Most people will be exposed to Acanthamoeba during their lifetime, but few become ill from this exposure.


The three diseases caused by Acanthamoeba are:

Acanthamoeba keratitis – An infection of the eye that typically occurs in healthy persons and can result in permanent visual impairment or blindness.

Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis (GAE) – A serious infection of the brain and spinal cord that typically occurs in persons with a compromised immune system.

Disseminated infection – A widespread infection that can affect the skin, sinuses, lungs, and other organs independently or in combination. It is also more common in persons with a compromised immune system.

ACE: Adverse Childhood Experiences Learning

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations ever guided on to assess associations between childhood maltreatment and later-life health and well-being. The study is a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente's Health Estimation Clinic in San Diego.



More than 17,000 Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) members undergoing a comprehensive physical examination took to provide detailed information about their childhood experience of abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction. To date, more than 50 scientific articles have been issued and more than100 conference and workshop presentations have been made.

The ACE Study findings propose that certain experiences are major risk factors for the leading causes of illness and death as well as poor quality of life in the United States. Progress in preventing and recovering from the nation's worst health and social problems is potential to benefit from understanding that many of these problems arise as a consequence of adverse childhood experiences.

Child Maltreatment Prevention

kid maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or different person in a custodial role (e.g., clergy, coach, teacher).



There are four common types of abuse:

1. Physical Abuse

2. Sexual Abuse

3. Emotional Abuse

4. Neglect

CDC’s research and programs work to understand the problem of kid maltreatment and prevent it before it begins.

Patients Aware: Syringe Never Reuse

Patients need to be aware of a very serious threat to their health - the reuse of needles or syringes, and the misuse of medication vials. Healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and anyone providing injections) should never reuse a needle or syringe either from one patient to another or to withdraw medicine from a vial. Both needle and syringe must be discarded once they have been used. It is not safe to change the needle and reuse the syringe - this practice can transmit disease.

Injection Information for Patients

Patients need to be aware that unsafe injection practices can be serious threat to their health. Healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and anyone providing injections) should never reuse a needle or syringe either from one patient to another or to withdraw medication from a vial. Both needle and syringe must be discarded once they have been used. It is not safe to change the needle and reuse the syringe - this practice can transmit disease.



Reusing a needle or syringe can put patients in danger of getting hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and HIV.

Patient Useful info:

Injection Safety FAQs for Patients
A Patient Safety Threat - Syringe Reuse

Infection Prevention during Blood Glucose Monitoring and Insulin

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has become increasingly concerned about the risks for transmitting hepatitis B virus (HBV) and other infectious diseases during assisted blood glucose (blood sugar) monitoring and insulin administration.

CDC is alerting all persons who assist others with blood glucose monitoring and/or insulin administration of the following infection control requirements:

• Fingerstick devices should never be used for more than one person


• Whenever possible, blood glucose meters should not be shared. If they must be shared, the device should be cleaned and disinfected after every use, per manufacturer’s instructions. If the manufacturer does not specify how the device should be cleaned and disinfected then it should not be shared.


• Insulin pens and other medication cartridges and syringes are for single-patient-use only and should never be used for more than one person

Examples of settings where assisted monitoring of blood glucose and insulin administration may occur include:

• Hospitals or clinics
• Long term care settings such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities
• Senior centers
• Health fairs
• Correctional facilities
• Schools or camps

Spinal Injection Procedures Performed without a Facemask

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is referred about the occurrence of bacterial meningitis among patients having spinal injection procedures that require injection of material or insertion of a catheter into epidural or subdural spaces (e.g., myelogram, administration of spinal or epidural anesthesia, or intrathecal chemotherapy).

Outbreaks of bacterial meningitis following these spinal injection procedures continue to be named among patients whose procedures were performed by a healthcare provider who did not wear a facemask (e.g., may be labeled as surgical, medical procedure, or isolation mask), with the most recent occurrence in October 2010 (CDC unpublished data). This notice serves as a reminder that masks should always be used by health professionals to perform these spinal injection procedures.

Since masks have been shown to limit the spread of droplets resulting from the oral flora, the CDC has recommended its use by health professionals to perform spinal injection procedures.

In addition to wearing a mask, healthcare providers should ensure compliance with all CDC recommended safe injection practices including the use of a single-dose vial of medication to a patient.