Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant (AMR) bacteria are a major issue in hospitals. A new technique aims to effectively track all types of relevant microorganisms simultaneously.
Integrating bacterial genomic data with detailed human mobility data makes it possible to see how pathogens causing pneumonia and meningitis, move between regions and evolve over time.
Antimicrobial-resistant infections have become a global threat, with an annual death toll of over 1 million. Now, reseachers created a promising vaccine candidate for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Researchers have analysed the rise of antibiotic resistance over the last 20 years in the UK and Norway, highlighting that antibiotic use is not the only factor in the increase.
A new synthetic antibiotic developed by University of Liverpool researchers is shown to be more effective than established drugs against ‘superbugs’ such as MRSA, a new study shows.
A new study on public health communication shows that the term commonly used to describe bacteria resistant to current medicines or antibiotics fails to stick in people’s memories.
German bioinformaticians have now detected an unexpected diversity of certain cell appendages in the bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii that are associated with its pathogenicity.
Hospital-acquired infections are dangerous for patients and costly for clinics. A novel surface treatment could help improve the safety of medical devices and ease the economic burden.
When treating acute infections, health care providers must quickly identify the best antibiotics for fighting the infection. An automated system provides swift, accurate results for determining the best antibiotics at the right dose.
A newly discovered structure of chain-mail may explain the success of C.difficile at defending itself against antibiotics and immune system molecules.
A type of the antibiotic resistant superbug MRSA arose in nature long before the use of antibiotics in humans and livestock, which has traditionally been blamed for its emergence.
Using higher doses of antibiotics in a bid to tackle the growing problem of drug resistance may end up strengthening certain bacteria, according to research that highlights a previously unthought-of risk.
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are a looming super threat – heralding a time when our drugs will no longer be effective against prevalent infections. Hospitals are already coping with treatment-resistant bacterial infections. Cognizant of the threat and thinking outside the box, BGU scientists and German and American colleagues have developed a pair of 'molecular tweezers' to destroy the biofilm…
Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed a new compound that is able to kill both gram-positive and gram-negative antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a synthetic peptide that can make multidrug-resistant bacteria sensitive to antibiotics again when used together with traditional antibiotics, offering hope for the prospect of a combination treatment strategy to tackle certain antibiotic-tolerant infections.
University of Melbourne researchers are finding ways to beat dangerous superbugs with ‘resistance resistant’ antibiotics, and it could help in the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) complications. As bacteria evolve, they develop strategies that undermine antibiotics and morph into ‘superbugs’ that can resist most available treatments and cause potentially lethal infections. The…
Layering minute amounts of Manuka honey between layers of surgical mesh acts as a natural antibiotic that could prevent infection following an operation, new research has shown. Meshes are used to help promote soft tissue healing inside the body following surgery and are common in operations such as hernia repair. However, they carry with them an increased risk of infection as the bacteria are…
Scientists have uncovered a novel antibiotic-free approach that could help prevent and treat one of the most widespread bacterial pathogens, using nanocapsules made of natural ingredients. Helicobacter pylori is a bacterial pathogen carried by 4.4 billion people worldwide, with the highest prevalence in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Although the majority of infections show no symptoms,…
T2 Biosystems and CARB-X announced that the T2Resistance Panel is the first diagnostic to graduate from CARB-X’s portfolio.
Cigarette smoke can make MRSA bacterial strains more resistant to antibiotics, new research from the University of Bath has shown. In addition cigarette smoke exposure can make some strains of Staphylococcus aureus – a microbe present in 30-60% of the global population and responsible for many diseases, some fatal – more invasive and persistent, although the effect is not universal across all…
Antibiotic stewardship is becoming a critical concern in hospitals as antibiotic resistance spreads globally and some organisms become resistant to antibiotics of last resort. Molecular diagnostics can play a role in antibiotic stewardship programs by providing timely and accurate advice to clinicians on which antibiotics to use, Professor Keith Stanley advises. "Antibiotic resistance in the…
This platform enables you to perform high class molecular diagnostics at an unbelievable speed. All assay run times are as short as 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the sample material. The lyophilised reactions are shippable and storable at room temperature and ready to use, with a shelf life of 18 month. Due to the robustness of the polymerase you don’t need any DNA extraction. The…
A major summit meeting in London, Great Britain, has seen politicians, doctors, scientists, farmers and other experts come together in a bid to tackle the growing global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. Among these experts was Dame Sally Davies, England’s Chief Medical Officer, who described AMR as a ‘problem without a face’ because most patients are not told they have a resistant…
DNAe, the inventor of semiconductor-based genomic analysis technologies, and the developer of a new, game-changing test for bloodstream infections that can lead to sepsis announced new data on its test for bloodstream infections, LiDia BSI. The data demonstrates the ability of the LiDia BSI closed cartridge-based test to rapidly identify low levels of bacterial and fungal pathogens and resistance…
For years, medical investigators have tried and failed to develop vaccines for a type of staph bacteria associated with the deadly superbug MRSA. But a new study by Cedars-Sinai investigators shows how staph cells evade the body’s immune system, offering a clearer picture of how a successful vaccine would work.
Cancer researchers in the UK may have stumbled across a solution to reverse antibiotic drug resistance and stop infections like MRSA. Experts warn we are decades behind in the race against superbugs having already exploited naturally occurring antibiotics, with the creation of new ones requiring time, money and ingenuity. But a team of scientists at the University of Salford say they may have…
Hospital-acquired infections are both a cause of and contribute to resistance, but a new technology can help.
Survival of mass extinctions helps to explain near indestructible properties of hospital superbugs.
Adding UV light to standard cleaning cut transmission of 4 resistant bacteria by 30 percent
On European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD), the European Public Health Alliance and the European Patients Forum jointly call on the European Commission and national governments to step up the fight against drug-resistant infections in the follow-up EU Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance announced for 2017. The EU has a vital role to play in protecting health security in Europe and empowering…
Researchers have discovered that secondary infection with the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterium (or “superbug”) often kills influenza patients because the flu virus alters the antibacterial response of white blood cells, causing them to damage the patients’ lungs instead of destroying the bacterium. The study suggests that inhibiting this response may help treat…
No one knows for sure how they got there. But the discovery that bacteria that normally live in the gut can be detected in the lungs of critically ill people and animals could mean a lot for intensive care patients.
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have found that the breast cancer drug tamoxifen gives white blood cells a boost, better enabling them to respond to, ensnare and kill bacteria in laboratory experiments. Tamoxifen treatment in mice also enhances clearance of the antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogen…
In a hospital, what you can’t see could hurt you. Healthcare facilities continue to battle drug-resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that loiter on surfaces even after patient rooms have been cleaned and can cause new, sometimes-deadly infections.
Researchers at the University of Toronto design diagnostic chip to reduce testing time from days to one hour, allowing doctors to pick the right antibiotic the first time.
A group of leading scientists has warned that Britain and Europe collectively could face more than a million deaths in an impending "Antibiotic Armageddon” unless more is spent on developing new cures, rapid diagnostics and preventative measures to combat the spread of drug resistant diseases.
Taking antibiotics for diarrhea may put travelers visiting developing parts of the world at higher risk for contracting superbugs and spreading these daunting drug-resistant bacteria to their home countries, according to a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online.
Scientists have discovered a new antibiotic, teixobactin, that can kill serious infections in mice without encountering any detectable resistance, offering a potential new way to get ahead of dangerous evolving superbugs.
Abbott announced its innovative diagnostic platform, known as Iridica, is now available in Europe and other CE–Mark recognized countries. The new platform can identify more than 1,000 infection–causing pathogens in less than six hours.
An ‘Achilles heel’ in the defensive barrier surrounding drug-resistant bacterial cells has been identified by a team of scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK.
‘This is a dramatic demonstration that medical genomics is no longer a technology of the future – it is a technology of the here and now' Report: Mark Nicholls
In hospitals, MRSA is considered Public Enemy Nr 1, and the increase in nosocomial infections, worldwide, has drawn universal attention to this ‘superbug’. However, Staphylococcus aureus is not alone – other pathogens are proving their resistance to antibiotics, in the last decade, gram-negative enterobacteria, which form the enzyme extended-spectrum beta-lactimases (ESBL), have joined the…
Hospital acquired infections are the focus for the 3rd International Day for Fighting Infection, being marked on St. George’s Day (23 April), as experts meet in Florence to look at the evolution of infection control in hospitals.
The first strain of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) was isolated in the 1960s, and its presence was reported worldwide in the late 1990s. A higher incidence of MRSA was noted in communities, at the dawn of the new millennium, leading to two basic MRSA strains being differentiated - CA-MRSA (community acquired MRSA) and HA-MRSA (healthcare associated MRSA). In clinical practice…
The antimicrobial technology firm BioCote Ltd, which is showing its products at the British Pavillion, is also promoting the results from the first study to investigate how silver antimicrobial products can reduce levels of bacteria in hospitals, clinics and care homes.
Scientists found out that particles of titanium dioxide, which is e.g. contained in the white lines at tennis courts, can kill bacteria and destroy dirt when activated by fluorescent light. Added in paints, the nanotitanium can kill superbugs on all surfaces in hospitals.
Knowing that good hygiene practice is critical to the prevention of cross contamination, New Style Healthcare services are introducing a range of unique hospital furniture to the UK which incorporates Microban® built in antibacterial technology.
The NHS is still suffering from wide variations in infection control standards, according to a survey of health staff in the UK. The study carried out by the watchdog body the Healthcare Commission, after questioning more than 155,000 NHS staff, indicated that there had been improvements in infection control in several areas.
Ireland - Researchers are investigating a new breed of bacteria that carry extended spectrum beta-lactimases (ESBLs) enzymes which can destroy many common antibiotics, including penicillins and cephalosporins.