Plastic bags
Plastic bags
Another consideration
With all the recent debate regarding plastic bags, this is an opportune time to remind shoppers of good sanitation practices regarding reusable shopping bags.
Repp and Keene reported in the May 9 Journal of Infectious Diseases the first scientific documentation of norovirus transmission via a reusable bag.
In October 2010, a young soccer player, who was experiencing norovirus infection symptoms, returned home without rejoining her teammates. She did leave them packaged food and fresh grapes that she’d kept in a reusable grocery bag that was stored in the bathroom she had used.
Vomiting and flushing the toilet produced aerosolized viruses that landed on the bag; touching the contaminated bag transmitted the viruses to their hands, and the viruses were ingested when the sealed packages were opened and the food eaten. Their chaperone and seven other soccer players reported similar symptoms within 72 hours of returning home.
This report strongly advises users of reusable grocery bags to wash their bags regularly to reduce the risk of contamination.
Aurora A. Saulo
Professor
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Monk seals
Hawaii center needed
This summer marks a milestone for those of us who work for the conservation of the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal. With private financial support, the Marine Mammal Center (based in Sausalito, Calif.) has the funds necessary to begin construction on a new hospital on the property of NELHA dedicated solely to the care of orphaned, injured or ill Hawaiian monk seal pups and adults.
With what is known about the monk seal — its history in the islands and its role in a dynamic marine ecosystem — and when one considers its plight: 1,100 animals or less, a decline of 4 percent per year, competition for food, habitat loss\ and marine debris entanglements along with harmful human actions — this hospital couldn’t come at a more pivotal time.
With a 37-year-history of treating more than 17,500 seals and sea lions along California’s coast, and working with myriad partners, the center has experience in veterinary care and marine mammal science and has long-standing programs in environmental education and community outreach.
We look forward to joining the efforts of our many partners in Hawaii who have long been working toward the return of this iconic species and to working with new partners to provide opportunities in the community for involvement, education and job skills.
Together, we can all make a difference for this one species and for the oceans. Visit marinemammalcenter.org/monkseal to learn more about the center and how you can help.
Dr. Jeff Boehm
Executive Director
The Marine Mammal Center