Microbiology

News • Inflammatory bowel disease

International consensus report highlights need for improved management of CDI

Results from an international consensus project involving a multidisciplinary group of clinicians have been presented today at 26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) 2016. A current lack of data on outcomes in patients with IBD who have CDI means that appropriate choice of treatment strategy can be unclear. The consensus examines the issues impacting…

News • Looking inside

A new method of viewing TB bacteria

Although tuberculosis (TB) is commonly thought of as being a disease that mainly affects nineteenth century poets and Victor Hugo characters, it is still the second-most common cause of mortality from an infectious disease in the world, killing nearly three people every minute.

News • ECCMID 2016

Pioneering research abstracts on colistin resistance and migrant health

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) – an organization that explores risks, knowledge sharing and best practices in the fight against infectious disease – has received more than 300 late-breaker abstract submissions for its annual congress, ECCMID 2016 in Amsterdam.

Antimicrobial resistance in Europe

Astellas Pharma EMEA today announced that it will host the Antimicrobial Resistance in Europe: Innovating Today to Protect our Health Tomorrow debate at the Bibliothèque Solvay, Brussels, on 3rd December, 2015. The event will convene leading scientists and economists from across Europe to discuss how policy-level innovation can address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the single greatest…

News • Microorganisms

Guidelines aimed at preventing build-up of dangerous biofilms

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) advocates the need for greater education, guidance and research on the build-up, treatment and prevention of biofilms, which contribute to antimicrobial resistance.

Article • Gold standard

Giant aims to inflate microbiology

At Europe’s largest meeting for clinical laboratories, Beckman Coulter stepped forward to welcome a new class of customers looking for familiar and reliable instruments. Report: John Brosky

News • bacterial communities

What’s lurking in your lungs?

With every breath you take, microbes have a chance of making it into your lungs. But what happens when they get there? And why do dangerous lung infections like pneumonia happen in some people, but not others? Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have started to answer these questions by studying the microbiome of the lungs – the community of microscopic organisms that are…

News • Malaria

Crime-Scene compound helps in fight against Malaria

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that in 2013, malaria infected 198 million people and killed 584,000, the majority of whom were African children. The compound that detectives spray at crime scenes to find trace amounts of blood may be used one day to kill the malaria parasite.

Article • Myocardial infarction

Advanced imaging techniques reveal T-tubules

Research conducted by Dr Ashraf Kitmitto and colleagues at the University of Manchester provides new information as to why some cells do not work properly following a heart attack.

News • Swiss Army Knife for Laboratories

Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

During the past 15 years, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has evolved into a vital technology used to perform routine tests in many clinical laboratories. Historically, LC-MS/MS had been used primarily by research, pharmaceutical, or commercial laboratories; however, advances in the technology, decreasing costs for basic systems, intelligible software, an increased…

News • Aspergillus

ESCMID cautions that Europe is now a hotbed of global fungal resistance

ESCMID Fungal Infection Study Group (EFISG) argues that fungal resistance now represents a huge healthcare threat – with many cases remaining massively undiagnosed even in the developed world – and that there is a rising prevalence of the most invasive and deadly forms. Conversely, in the developing world we are seeing very treatable fungal infections killing huge numbers – half a million…

News • Technology

Diabetes: Smart insulin patch could replace painful injections

Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created a “smart insulin patch” that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.

Article • MALDI-TOF

Identifying a single isolate in minutes

When trialled in Swansea, Wales, Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation – Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) demonstrated sufficient advantages over conventional methods to be introduced into routine practice.

Article • Research

Genetic alterations

This article discusses examples of applications of genetic analyses in coagulation disorders and haematological and oncological diseases. Professor Christine Mannhalter highlights the impact changes have on the occurrence and severity of diseases and their influence on therapy response. Report: Christine Mannhalter

Article • Infectious diseases

Carrying home a nosocomial infection

About 6-8% of Spanish patients will develop an infection during or after a hospital stay. Can these infections be avoided? How is Spain facing up to the challenge? Dr Juan Pablo Horcajada, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, and spokesperson of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), assessed the situation and…

Article • New Study

Seeking to identify what causes death

A new study group that aims to establish guidelines on forensic microbiology sampling and encourage increased communications between European and global organisations, has been launched by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).

Article • Politics I

Austria’s notable national action plan

Surveillance, hygiene and infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, diagnosis of infectious diseases, use of antimicrobial medicines as well as reporting and information. Report: Michael Krassnitzer

News • Microbiology

ESCMID launches study groups for forensic and veterinary microbiology

The ESCMID Study Group for Forensic and Postmortem Microbiology will create a new network of microbiologists, virologists, anthropologists and archaeologists working in the field of forensic medicine. Professor Amparo Fernandez-Rodriguez, from the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences, Madrid, is the head of ESGFOR and stresses the importance of this group in facilitating…

Microbes on the International Space Station

Do microbes grow differently on the International Space Station than they do on Earth? Results from the growth of microbes collected by citizen scientists in Project MERCCURI indicate that most behave similarly in both places.

Researchers grow cardiac tissue on “spider silk” substrate

Genetically engineered fibers of the protein spidroin, which is the construction material for spider webs, has proven to be a perfect substrate for cultivating heart tissue cells, MIPT researchers found. They discuss their findings in an article that has recently come out in the journal PLOS ONE.

Article • DRUG resistance II

Obama’s multi-year, billion-dollar effort

The USA’s President Barack Obama released a comprehensive plan in March to slow the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, a multi-year, billion-dollar effort that includes getting doctors to stop over-prescribing antibiotics, developing new medications and rapid diagnostics, and real-time tracking of infection outbreaks. Report: Lisa Chamoff

Article • Nosocomial infections I

Microbes vs. viruses

In European acute care hospitals, on any given day, an estimated 80,000 patients – roughly six percent of all patients – receive antimicrobial treatment to fight a healthcare associated infection (HAI), according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Report: Walter Depner

Article • IVD regulations

'We will need a lot more regulators'

The proposed EU draft IVD regulation looks set to have major implications for IVD manufacturers and laboratory-developed tests (LDTs). Replacing a current system that is inflexible, unresponsive and does not effectively protect patients, the new regulation will apply directly to all 28 EU countries and govern the manufacture and marketing of in vitro diagnostic devices (IVDs).

News • DRUG resistance III

Antibiotic Armageddon in Europe by 2025

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.

News • ECCMID 2015

Curetis launches next-generation pneumonia application

Curetis AG, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, announced the successful completion of the clinical and analytical CE performance evaluation of its next-generation Unyvero P55 Pneumonia Application. The upgraded cartridge will launch at the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID, April 25 – 28, 2015 in Copenhagen, Denmark) and is…