Petra’s Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, has put together his best recommendations regarding the Ebola virus. Please click the image below to view the list at it’s full resolution and be able to save the image for personal use or to pass along to anyone you may know in the hospitality industry!
Tag Archives: CDC
Hospitality Industry Health Update: “Official Recommendations of the P3 Team Regarding Ebola”
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Update: “Official Recommendations of the P3 Team Regarding Ebola”
Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership
Hospitality Industry Health Update: “CDC Confirms First Case of Ebola in US”
U.S. health officials have been preparing since summer in case an individual traveler arrived here unknowingly infected, telling hospitals what infection-control steps to take to prevent the virus from
spreading in health facilities. People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but symptoms can begin up to 21 days after exposure. Ebola isn’t contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that a patient being treated at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the first case diagnosed in the United States.
The patient left Liberia on September 19 and arrived in the United States on September 20, CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. It’s the first patient to be diagnosed with this particular strain of Ebola outside of Africa.
For more:Â http://fxn.ws/1nLAMVj
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Update: “CDC Confirms First Case of Ebola in US”
Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Health Risks: The CDC Lists The “Major Pathogens That Cause Foodborne Illness” In 2013
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Risks: The CDC Lists The “Major Pathogens That Cause Foodborne Illness” In 2013
Filed under Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurant Study By CDC Finds “Widespread Risky Food Handling Practices” In Over 50% Of Kitchens; Failure To Follow FDA Guidance On Preventing Cross-Contamination
“…For the chicken study, EHS-Net researchers interviewed 448 restaurant managers. They found that many were not following FDA guidance 
about preventing cross-contamination and cooking chicken properly and that managers “lacked basic food safety knowledge about chicken”…40% of managers said they never, rarely, or only occasionally designated certain cutting boards exclusively for raw meat, and more than 50% said that thermometers were not used to determine the final cooking temperature of chicken. Further, only 43% of managers knew the recommended final cooking temperature…”
A set of studies released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its partners points to widespread holes in restaurant food safety systems, such as risky handling of ground beef and chicken and too-warm shipping temperatures for leafy greens.
Among the key findings, according to the study and a CDC summary:
- Eighty-one percent of restaurants used subjective measures of hamburger doneness, and 49% said they never checked the final cooking temperature
- At least two risky handling practices were seen in 53% of restaurants
- In 62% of restaurants in which workers used bare hands to handle raw ground beef, they did not wash their hands after handling it.
- Only 1% of restaurants reported buying irradiated ground beef, and 29% were unfamiliar with the product
- Chain restaurants and those with managers certified in food safety had safer practices than others.
At the same time, the CDC announced plans for a new surveillance system designed to help state and local health departments identify underlying factors that contribute to foodborne disease outbreaks in restaurants and other food service venues.
The research findings, published this week in the Journal of Food Protection, deal with the handling of ground beef, chicken, and leafy greens and with sick food workers.
For more:Â http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/12/cdc-finds-holes-restaurant-food-safety-systems
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p1202-food-safety-tools.html
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurant Study By CDC Finds “Widespread Risky Food Handling Practices” In Over 50% Of Kitchens; Failure To Follow FDA Guidance On Preventing Cross-Contamination
Filed under Food Illnesses, Health, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Pool Safety: “The Model Aquatic Health Code: Making Swimming Healthy And Safe”
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Pool Safety: “The Model Aquatic Health Code: Making Swimming Healthy And Safe”
Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Health Risks: CDC Reports That Up To “58% Of Hotel And Public Swimming Pools Contain Fecal Matter”, Resulting In Increased “E.Coli & Other Recreational Water Illnesses”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Mh9GoYy5g]
In 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that found fecal matter in 58% of public swimming pools. The study looked at 161 samples from pool filter concentrates…The study detected E. coli in over 50% of the pool samples, indicating that swimmers frequently introduced fecal material into pools. This could mean that pathogens can be transmitted to others through the use of these pools and recreational water activities…Although the study found E. coli at higher rates in municipal pools, pools that required a membership or were located within a club still tested positive 49% of the time.
Although the study found E. coli at higher rates in municipal pools, pools that required a membership or were located within a club still tested positive 49% of the time. Since 1978, the incidence of recreational water illness (RWI) outbreaks of acute gastrointestinal illness has substantially increased.
Some of the organisms detected in the study included:
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• E. coli
• Giardia intestinalis
• Cryptosporidium
Contrary to popular belief, chlorine does not kill all germs instantly. There are germs today that are very tolerant to chlorine and were not known to cause human disease until recently. Once these germs get in the pool, it can take anywhere from minutes to days for chlorine to kill them.
Recreational water illnesses are caused by germs spread by swallowing, breathing in mists or aerosols of, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans. Recreational water illnesses can also be caused by chemicals in the water or chemicals that evaporate from the water and cause indoor air quality problems.
These are just a few things to know about microbial contaminants and recreational water illnesses, to learn more about this other health and safety or environmental and indoor air quality issues, please visit the websites shown on the screen.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Risks: CDC Reports That Up To “58% Of Hotel And Public Swimming Pools Contain Fecal Matter”, Resulting In Increased “E.Coli & Other Recreational Water Illnesses”
Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Maintenance, Pool And Spa, Risk Management
