News • Antibiotic resistance
The weapon of choice against superbugs might be made of copper
Hospital-acquired infections are both a cause of and contribute to resistance, but a new technology can help.
Infections
News • FDA-cleared Procalcitonin (PCT)
Beckman Coulter Diagnostics expands chemistry menu
Beckman Coulter Diagnostics along with partner Diazyme Laboratories announces FDA clearance of a new procalcitonin (PCT) assay, an important tool for the management of bacterial infections and sepsis.
News • Trypanosomiasis
News from the pathogen that causes sleeping sickness
A team of researchers from the University of Würzburg has discovered an interesting enzyme in the pathogens responsible for African sleeping sickness: It could be a promising target for drugs.
Article • Knowing your enemy
New model to aid antibiotic resistance studies
Scientists in the UK have developed a new model that will help to advance the study of resistance to antibiotics.
Sponsored • Interview
Clostridium difficile: Routine diagnostics in the medical laboratory
In our interview with the physician Dr. Fabian Berger, we want to know about the advantages of molecular biological procedures compared to conventional C. difficile diagnostics.
News • Diabetes research
Healing burn wounds with cell therapy
An experimental treatment in mice allows the reprogramming of blood cells in order to promote the healing process of cutaneous wounds. This approach could prove to be beneficial in healing challenging wounds in diabetics and major-burn victims.
News • Polymicrobial infections
Rivalry among pathogens may lead to unexpected benefits
Research at the University of Konstanz has identified a molecule that allows the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa to inhibit its rival, Staphylococcus aureus. This might build the basis for the development of new antibiotics.
News • Outbreaks
Ebola: New management approach can save lives
Ebola outbreaks are set to be managed quickly and efficiently – saving lives – with a new approach developed by an international team of researchers, including the University of Warwick, which helps to streamline outbreak decision-making.
News • Before the Age of Dinosaurs
Antibiotic-resistant microbes date back to 450 MYA
Survival of mass extinctions helps to explain near indestructible properties of hospital superbugs.
Interview • Biomarkers
Aiming for the earliest diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma
For almost three quarters of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients in Europe it is too late for curative treatment because the disease is often only diagnosed at a very advanced stage. Interviewed Professor Guido Gerken MD, Director of the Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University Hospital Essen, about improved and timelier diagnostic capabilities that have already been…
News • Negative test
Symptoms of cystitis caused by bacterial infection?
The majority of women suffering with pain when urinating, or needing to urinate often or urgently probably do have a bacterial infection, even when nothing is detected by standard urine testing.
News • Going Viral
An unusual 'friend' to help fight ovarian cancer
In some cases, the Lassa virus starts with a fever and general weakness, moving toward headache, muscle pain, possible facial swelling, deafness, and worse. About 15 percent of patients hospitalized with severe cases die. Lassa fever is contagious, endemic in West Africa, and Dr. Anthony van den Pol thinks he can use it to cure ovarian cancer.
Article • Infection control
Global warming: Science can only react to emerging diseases
The ‘Transmission, Prevention, and Reporting of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ program for the International Conference IMED 2016 in Vienna, this November, reflected events in the field of emerging diseases that have occurred over the last two years. Therefore, key congress topics included the Zika virus, the effects of global warming and the unusually high number of hospital-acquired…
News • Laboratory
Partnership for molecular diagnostic test
SpeeDx Pty. Ltd., a developer of innovative molecular diagnostic solutions, has signed an agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science. The announcement was made at the 27th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ECCMID) in Vienna to submit its ResistancePlus MG Test for the detection of Mycoplasma genitalium to the US Food & Drug…
News • Bacteria’s DNA fingerprint
Does C. difficile spread around Europe via food distribution?
Foods should be investigated as a potential source of spread of Clostridium difficile, according to research presented at the 27th ECCMID [1].
News • ECCMID 2017
The cost of Clostridium difficile infections
Repeated infection with the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), which causes stomach upsets and diarrhoea, is linked to higher death rates, as well as having a significant impact on health services in terms of cost and hospital beds occupied. This issue will be adressed in two presentations at the 27th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID),…
Article • Pandemic planning
The world is underprepared for infectious diseases
A team of international experts has highlighted how the world remains ‘grossly underprepared’ for infectious disease outbreaks, which are likely to become more frequent in future decades.
Interview • Infection control
Virologists are today’s universal necessities
Globalisation has been a defining term in this 21st century: with almost anybody able to visit any place at any time, diseases, viruses and bacteria can be travel companions. Thus virology is gaining increased attention. Professor Barbara Gärtner, President of the German Association of Virology, talks about the issues and challenges arising from this development.
Article • Study
Hepatitis control must be accelerated
Last year the WHO launched a global strategy on viral hepatitis aiming to eliminate hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) as public health threats by 2030.
Article • Infections
Start of advanced genetic antibiotic resistance testing
Curetis, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced that the Company has established Ares Genetics GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Curetis GmbH. Ares Genetics builds on GEAR GEnetic Antibiotic Resistance and Susceptibility Database and associated assets recently acquired for Siemens. The Company will use GEAR to investigate the genetic foundations of antibiotic…
News • Infectious disease
Antibody removed: help with resistant bacteria
Researchers from the University of Birmingham and Newcastle University found that the unusual approach of removing antibodies from the blood stream reduced the effects of chronic infections, the requirement for days spent in hospital and the use of antibiotics.
Article • Antibiotic resistance
New Study Reports Cannabinoid Effective Against MRSA
Nemus Bioscience and the University of Mississippi report significant anti-MRSA synergy data utilizing proprietary cannabinoid-based anti-infective platforms.
News • Malaria Treatment
Soon to be Simpler, More Flexible, and More Efficient?
Malaria infections may soon be treated much more efficiently than they are at present. Researchers at the Universities of Bayreuth and Jerusalem have developed a novel drug release procedure for this purpose. The procedure enables the active ingredient Artemisone to be administered reliably at quantities and time intervals that are tailored exactly to the patients’ individual needs. The…
Sponsored • Infection Prevention
Trusted cable systems
Ever more imaging devices are characterised by very extensive movement sequences while simultaneously being compact. Both device manufacturers and suppliers must consider mounting dynamic requirements when developing their products and ensure their long-term system integrity.
Article • Imaging Infections
Zika birth defects decrease, but…
ECR 2017 Guest Lecturer Maria de Fatima Vasco Aragao, a radiologist from Pernambuco state, Brazil, has been tracking the Zika virus ever since it broke out in her country in 2015. She will highlight how CT and MRI can help reach diagnosis, especially in the absence of microcephaly. In an exclusive interview with European Hospital correspondent Mélisande Rouger, the radiologist warned there might…