State launches education effort
to prevent infection
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New guidelines set for nail technicians
[DEC. 27, 2004]
CHICAGO -- Pedicures,
particularly spa pedicures, have rapidly become an important part of
prepping for holiday parties or tropical vacations. Unfortunately,
the growth in popularity of nail and spa salons has also resulted in
a growing number of reports of infections caused by
less-than-meticulous salons.
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The Illinois Department of Financial
and Professional Regulation and the Department of Public Health
announced on Dec. 21 an intense public and professional education
program to ensure that sterilization guidelines already recommended
by industry trade associations are stringently adhered to by
licensed beauty and nail salons in Illinois. The careful
sterilization procedures outlined by the state will dramatically
reduce health risks that may arise from these relatively rare
infections.
"While there was only one case in
Illinois, we did not want to wait until this problem became
widespread," said Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health
director.
"Today's announced effort to educate
Illinois' licensed professionals will ensure that improved health
and safety standards are implemented by salon owners immediately,"
said Fernando Grillo, secretary of the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation. "We intend to mandate these requirements
through legislative and regulatory actions in the near future."

The Illinois Department of Financial
and Professional Regulation and the Department of Public Health
conducted field tests on random Illinois salons after learning of an
outbreak of more than 150 reported cases of skin boils caused by
Mycobacterium fortuitum and other related mycobacteria in California
spa-pedicure customers. When the results of the field test were
received, the inspectors found that a significant percentage of the
salons' spa pedicure whirlpools tested positive for the bacteria.
While this bacterium is commonly found in water and soil, the warm,
wet climate of a spa pedicure is the perfect breeding ground for
these germs to multiply.
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The multilingual
education campaign announced Dec. 21 consists of providing
guidelines about new sterilization procedures to all 6,000 licensed
salons and barbershops in Illinois. In addition, the Department of
Financial and Professional Regulation is working with the 100
licensed cosmetology schools to educate their students about the new
procedures. The departments are also asking salons to post these
guidelines in public areas of their salons to educate their
customers.
In the upcoming legislative session,
the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will be
requesting new authority to strengthen its ability to regulate nail
salons and spas, including stronger sanitation requirements and more
robust enforcement authority.
The new, more stringent sanitary
requirements for nail salons have been developed in conjunction with
the Department of Public Health. Enforcing these requirements will
ensure that Illinois nail salons and spas are safe for their
customers
Copies of the sterilization
guidelines and customer warnings are available at
www.idfpr.com.
[News release from the
Illinois
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation]

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