Article • Mini Microscopes
Mobile technology could enhance digital pathology
Mobile technology could prove an important catalyst in helping take digital pathology onto a new level in delivering clinical diagnostics.
Microbiology
Article • Sharp
Even displaying a beetle’s hair
‘4K technology is the future - a fact which hasn’t gone unnoticed by Panasonic. The company presented its new 4K Ultra HD Micro camera GP-UH532 in Dusseldorf in November 2015. We are very pleased to introduce this innovative system,’ says Margarita Zoussevitch, European Marketing Manager at Panasonic.
Article • Resistance
Last resort antibiotic under treat
Data presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases diseases has highlighted how a recently-discovered mechanism could mean one of the last-resort antibiotics is under threat. Evidence put before ECCMID suggested the genetic mechanism allowing bacteria to develop and transfer resistance to colistin has been present in several countries around the world –…
News • mcr-1 gene
Antibiotic resistance mechanism continues to spread
Researchers presented findings on the prevalence of the mcr-1 gene, a transferable genetic mechanism of antimicrobial-resistance to colistin - the last resort antibiotic in a number of circumstances. At a session dedicated to late-breaking abstracts on colistin resistance, researchers presented evidence on the prevalence of the gene in bacteria (including Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia…
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