Meningitis

• The microbial infection risk of your phone is much less appreciated – but it’s very real.
• All of which can transfer microbes onto your phone along with food deposits for those microbes to eat.
• But given how disgusting and germ-infested phones can be, maybe it’s time to think more about mobile phone hygiene.

Germs, bacteria, viruses

• Hands pick up bacteria and viruses all the time and are recognised as a route for acquiring infection.
• A number of studies conducted on the microbiological colonisation of mobile phones show that they can be contaminated with many different kinds of potentially pathogenic bacteria.
• Phones contain plastic which can harbour and transmit viruses some of which (the common cold virus) can live on hard plastic surfaces for up to a week.
• Other viruses such as COVID-19, rotavirus (a highly infectious stomach bug that typically affects babies and young children), influenza and norovirus – which can cause serious respiratory and gut infections – can persist in an infectable form for several days.

Clean your phone

• Do not spray sanitisers directly onto the phone and keep liquids away from connection points or other phone openings.
• When not at home, keep your phone in your pocket, or bag and use a disposable paper list of to-do items, rather than constantly consulting your phone.
• Touch your phone with clean hands – washed with soap and water or disinfected with alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
• You might also want to occasionally sanitise your phone charger when you are cleaning your phone.

• TBE is a disease that can lead to inflammation in the brain and is caused by a virus transmitted by the bite of a tick.
• The incidence in Europe was 0.9 cases per 100,000 people in 2020, but this shows significant variation by country.
• This virus wasn’t present in the UK until recent years.
• Taken together, this evidence suggests that the TBE virus is now successfully circulating in the UK, albeit at low levels.

How did it get here?

• The virus can be transferred from infected to non-infected ticks when both feed on the same host.
• Ticks infected with TBE virus have also been detected in the New Forest and the North Yorkshire Moors.
• Slight differences have been found in the genetic background between these viruses, suggesting there have been introductions from multiple locations.

Symptoms

• The effects of this virus can range from having no symptoms at all, to fever, fatigue and body pains, through to infection of the central nervous system where it results in inflammation (meningitis to severe encephalitis) that can lead to long-term neurological damage or death.
• More serious symptoms to look out for that may indicate encephalitis include severe headache, a stiff neck, confusion, and weakness in the arms and legs.

Preventing TBE

• There is a vaccine that has been used to prevent TBE in endemic regions for many years.
• While the levels of TBE virus are low in the UK, vaccination is probably not justifiable, but this needs to be actively monitored.
• The vaccine is also worth considering for people visiting a country where TBE is common and planning to do outdoor activities while there.
• Also, enhanced surveillance of ticks will be important to help us understand TBE risk in different areas of the UK.

• The Periodontal Health (Red Complex) Test Panel is comprised of bacteria that are known to cause severe periodontal disease as well as a number of other chronic conditions that impact cardiovascular and metabolic health.
• The Whole-Body Health Test Panel was designed to provide a map of whole-body health beginning in the oral cavity.
• Laboratory director, Dr. Leslie Douglas stated, "At DNA ConneXions® we are continuing to enhance our testing with superior quality, technology, and innovation.
• The DNA ConneXions® test panels can be utilized without a doctor's order and are performed with a simple, non-invasive dental Super Floss in the comfort of your own home.

• This study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of VAX-24, the Company’s lead, broad-spectrum 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) candidate designed to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD).
• The Company expects to share topline data from the primary three-dose immunization series of the Phase 2 study by 2025.
• Vaxcyte’s Phase 2 infant study is being conducted in two stages and compares VAX-24 to the broadest standard-of-care PCV, which is currently PCV15.
• The study design includes a primary immunization series consisting of three doses followed by a subsequent booster dose.