Bacterial Resistance Is Futile Against Wound-cleaning Laser Jul 2, 2008
As Wilson explains, this means that resistance is unlikely to develop, "The mechanism of killing is non-specific, with reactive oxygen species causing damage to many bacterial components, so resistance is unlikely to develop - even from repeated use" ... The increasing occurrence of bacterial resistance is a well-known problem facing modern medicine ... According to Wilson "Infected wounds are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality, and an increase in the duration and the cost of... (Science Daily)
Tech 'borrowed' from sharks may help fight bacteria Jun 28, 2008
The technology holds the potential to limit bacterial growth without using chemicals that can trigger resistance and make infections harder to stop. "When I saw his technology, I was blown away," Bagan said. (Denver Business Journal, CO)
'New superbug' worries overhyped Jun 13, 2008
Dr Georgia Duckworth and Alan Johnson from the HPA department of healthcare associated infection and antimicrobial resistance said there had been a "flurry of headlines" in the UK warning of the dangers of this "new superbug". In actuality, they said, S. maltophilia infections are relatively rare compared to infections caused by other species of viruses and bacteria such as MRSA or C. difficile. (BBC News -- Health)
Your Health: Anti-bacterial agents linked to human and enviromental health risks Jun 13, 2008
Antibiotic resistance is only one of many health-related concerns linked to use of triclosan. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that widespread use of antimicrobial agents may weaken our immune systems. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
Pigs Raised Without Antibiotics More Likely To Carry Bacteria, Parasites Jun 13, 2008
New flu tests can diagnose the flu in as little as 30 minutes, to cut down on needless antibiotic use, which can build up resistance and make some. . (Science Daily)
Transatlantic Economic Council Report to the EU-U.S. Summit 2008 Jun 10, 2008
In this sense, the Commission consulted the European Food Safety Authority on the possible effects of the treatment on antimicrobial resistance and the Scientific Committee on Health and Environment and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks on the environmental risk and on the risk of emergence of microbial resistance associated with the use of these substances. The Commission has reviewed these scientific opinions and, in the light of those opinions, which... (White House News Releases)
Genetic characterization of clinical and agri-food isolates of multi drug resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg from Canada Jun 7, 2008
Ashleigh K Andrysiak , Adam B Olson , Dobryan M Tracz , Kathryn Dore , Rebecca Irwin , Lai-King Ng , Matthew W Gilmour and Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) ... Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg ranks amongst the most prevalent causes of human salmonellosis in Canada and an increase in resistance to extended spectrum cephalosporins (ESC) has been observed by the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance ...... (BioMed Central)
GWAC: Take stock of your foodstocks Jun 5, 2008
Animal wastes also play havoc with water quality (To find out more about this whole ugly mess check out Industrial Farm Animal Production, Antimicrobial Resistance and Human Health, a report just out by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health at www. ncifap. (Lexington Minuteman, MA)
Ondine Receives Health Canada License for Multi-Purpose Photodisinfection Laser Jun 4, 2008
The Company's photodisinfection laser is expected to provide an alternative resource to antibiotics for clinicians and patients in the eradication of S. aureus and resistant 'superbugs' including MRSA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotic resistance has become 'one of the world's most pressing public health problems. "With rates of hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic resistance rising steeply, it is imperative that non-antibiotic, anti-infective... (Canada Newswire)
Biotech firm gets Canadian OK to test antibiotic in humans Jun 2, 2008
"This is the first small molecule defensin mimetic to enter clinical development intended for the treatment of systemic infections, and the first and only such compound which is designed to directly address the growing problem of bacterial drug resistance.". A defensin mimetic is as a synthetic chemical mimic of host defense proteins, which, the company said, are one of the oldest and most effective antimicrobial defense systems found in virtually all living creatures. (Philadelphia Business Journal, PA)
Antibiotics Accompanying Surgery Prevent Some Infections But Increasingly Cause Another May 29, 2008
This would also produce collateral benefits of decreasing cost, reducing microbial-related side effects, and slowing the development of bacterial resistance. They report their findings in the June 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online. (Science Daily)
The balance shifts May 28, 2008
This would also produce collateral benefits of decreasing cost, reducing microbial-related side effects, and slowing the development of bacterial resistance. . (EurekAlert!)
MOA of Tetracycline Antibiotics May 24, 2008
Because tetracyclines have been around for so long, resistance is common, and the presence of tetracycline-resistant pathogens limits the use of this class of antibiotic. Adverse effects. (Suite101.com)
Silver-coated Endotracheal Tube Dramatically Reduces Resistant Infections May 21, 2008
"Given the importance of MRSA, PA and AB in the ICU, utilization of the silver-coated endotracheal tube may help contain the spread of antimicrobial resistance.". Adapted from materials provided by , via , a service of AAAS.. (Science Daily)
Virus could combat deadly bacteria Aug 30, 2007
Instead of attacking the bacterium with new antibiotics that it could evolve a resistance against over time, immunologist Domenico Iannelli at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy and his colleagues tried using bacteria-killing known as bacteriophages or phages ... Although bacteria eventually develop resistance against phages as they do against antibiotics, "phage resistance is a rare event, rarer than antibiotic resistance," Iannelli told LiveScience. (MSNBC -- Health)
Antibiotic Resistance: New Strategies To Combat Problem Aug 30, 2007
Understanding how these molecules have continued to ward off infection could also accelerate development of immunotherapeutics to boost the body's own defenses against infection or other diseases, and reduce the resistance issues that plague today's antibiotics. The article authored by Drs. (Science Daily)
WHO Alarms On Health Threats Aug 25, 2007
Since 1967, at least 39 new pathogens have been identified, including HIV, Ebola haemorrhagic fever, Marburg fever and SRS. Other centuries-old threats, such as pandemic influenza, malaria and tuberculosis continue to pose a threat to health, through a combination of mutation, rising resistance to antimicrobial medicines and weak health systems. The report blamed these health problems on inadequate investment in public health resulting from a false sense of security in the absence of infectious... (AllAfrica.com)
Scientists Preserve And Protect Foods Naturally Aug 25, 2007
This avoids the potential of increasing the antimicrobial resistance of specific bacteria, an emerging problem in medical circles brought on by the overprescription of antibiotics ... "They will be eating foods that are safer for longer periods of time; they will not be expanding antibiotic resistance; and they will not be adding to their bodies' synthetic chemical load.". (Science Daily)
Antibacterial Soap No Better And May Be Worse Than Plain Soap Aug 17, 2007
Furthermore, the soaps, most of which contain the antimicrobial triclosan, produced worrisome antibiotic cross-resistance among different species of bacteria, according to a study reported in a supplement to the Sept. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases ... Furthermore, several studies have demonstrated evidence of triclosan-adapted cross-resistance to antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, among different species of bacteria, the researchers said ... Although bacterial resistance has not been... (MedPage Today)
Mercy will host Infectious Disease Symposium Aug 13, 2007
Dr. Ronald Greenfield, a professor in the Infectious Diseases Section of the Department of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, will discuss "Community Acquired MRSA." He will explain the epidemiologic and genetic patterns of MRSA resistance and will analyze the reasons for the lack of effectiveness of available MRSA antimicrobial agents. Dr. H. Gunner Deery, a specialist from Northern Michigan Infectious Diseases in Petoskey, will discuss wound... (Sioux City Journal)
Hospitals to screen for risky bacteria Aug 13, 2007
Hospitals are particularly concerned about containing the spread of infections by drug-resistant bacteria like MRSA, which first emerged in the U.S. in 1968 and is especially difficult and costly to treat because of its resistance to antibiotics. Veterans Affairs hospitals in Ann Arbor and Detroit must start screening every patient for MRSA by September, in response to a mandate from the Department of Veterans Affairs this spring that requires all 155 VA medical centers in the U.S. test for the... (DetNews.com)
Investigating Antibiotic Use In Acute Care Patients Aug 4, 2007
"They also maintain a pool of antibiotic resistance genes within the microbial community of patients treated with antibiotics." ... Dr Chin told the 2007 Australian Society for Microbiology s annual conference in Adelaide in July that: "The current theory of antibiotic resistance is that the fittest bacteria, that is, those carrying genes for resistance, are the most likely to survive."Because antibiotic treatment will never kill all bacteria, bad or good, there will always be a pool of... (Science Daily)
Antibiotic Resistance: Doctors' Antibiotic Prescribing Practices Still Contributing To Problem Jul 28, 2007
And this practice is hindering efforts to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance - whereby disease-causing bacteria become unresponsive to the most commonly used drug treatments. "Many doctors believe that by giving an antibiotic they might be doing some good or at least covering the possibility of a missed diagnosis of significant bacterial disease, with little thought given to the possibility of doing harm," explains Douglas Fleming, a GP and member of the UK's Specialist Advisory... (Science Daily)
Fighting Drug Resistance In Hepatitis C Virus Jul 25, 2007
Researchers at McGill University have found a clue in developing new drug candidates to fight the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by identifying a defence mechanism in the virus similar to resistance found in HIV.. If you understand the biochemical mechanisms of drug resistance, you may be able to develop drugs in the test tube that are more capable of doing their job in the clinic, says Dr. Matthias G ... tte, this adds to our understanding of how viral resistance can be overcome. (Science Daily)
Routine Feeding Of Antibiotics To Livestock May Be Contaminating The Environment Jul 14, 2007
There is also concern that consuming antibiotics may lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which can render antibiotics ineffective. Holly Dolliver, the lead scientist in this study, notes that antibiotics consumed by plants may be of particular concern to the organic farming industry. (Science Daily)
Antibiotics Won't Prevent Urinary Tract Infections in Kids: Study Jul 11, 2007
Reporting in the July 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers say the use of antibiotics as prevention boosts risks for drug resistance while doing nothing to shield kids from future urinary tract infections (UTIs) ... "It's great news for us, because a lot of kids are on antibiotics for a long time, and they can get resistance, which has been a growing problem," said Dr. Fabienne Wheeler, a pediatrician with Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco,... (Forbes)
FDA blocking import of 5 species of... Jul 1, 2007
Use of fluoroquinolones in food-producing animals can result in antibiotic resistance. None of them is approved for use in farmed in the United States and some of them have been shown to cause cancer when fed to laboratory animals for "prolonged periods of time," Acheson said. (CNN -- Law)
* US bans farmed fish, shrimp from China Jun 30, 2007
ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE. The FDA has not issued a recall of fish already admitted into the country but said it was "concerned about long term exposure as well as the possible development of antibiotic resistance." ... The FDA said its use "may increase antibiotic resistance to this critically important class of antibiotics.". (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
China anger over US seafood ban Jun 30, 2007
Some of the substances included nitrofuran, malachite green and fluoroquinolone, which, according to the FDA, may help build up a resistance to antibiotics when used in food animals. The ban is not imposed on food which has already been imported into the US, only future shipments. (BBC News -- Business)
U.S. to check safety of imported Chinese seafood Jun 29, 2007
The substances found in the imported seafood included nitrofuran, malachite green and fluoroquinolone, which the FDA said when used in food animals may increase antibiotic resistance to this critically important class of antibiotics. None of these substances is approved for use in farm-raised seafood in the United States, and the use of nitrofurans and malachite green in aquaculture is also prohibited by Chinese authorities. (Scientific American)
US halts Chinese seafood imports Jun 29, 2007
Some of the substances included nitrofuran, malachite green and fluoroquinolone, which, according to the FDA, may help build up a resistance to antibiotics when used in food animals. "We're taking this strong step because of current and continuing evidence that certain Chinese aquaculture products imported into the US contain illegal substances that are not permitted in seafood sold in the US," the FDA said. (BBC News -- Business)
Drug-resistant river blindness spreading Jun 16, 2007
LONDON - The parasite that causes river blindness, a crippling disease endemic in Africa, may be developing resistance to the one drug used to treat it, according to research published Friday in The Lancet ... Its not surprising that were seeing some drug resistance, Hotez said ... The emerging problem of resistance to this drug underlines the need to find new drugs and possibly even vaccines, he said. (MSNBC -- Health)
River blindness parasite resisting treatment Jun 15, 2007
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The parasite that causes river blindness appears to be developing resistance to the only drug widely available to treat it, researchers said on Thursday ... "With resistance, that breaks down and we expect to see the disease becoming a problem again," he said ... "Just knowing there is the development of resistance is important because it gives a bit of a spur to efforts to fast-track alternative approaches," he said. (Scientific American)
Strange but True: Antibacterial Products May Do More Harm Than Good Jun 12, 2007
This phenomenon, called cross-resistance, has already been demonstrated in several laboratory studies using triclosan, one of the most common chemicals found in antibacterial hand cleaners, dishwashing liquids and other wash products ... Some of these mutations endow the bacteria with resistance to isoniazid, an antibiotic used for treating tuberculosis, whereas other microbes can supercharge their efflux pumps protein machines in the cell membrane that can spit out several types of antibiotics,... (Scientific American)
Newly found sensing system enables certain bacteria to resist human immune defenses Jun 8, 2007
Gram-positive bacteria are major threats to human health, especially due to increasing problems with drug resistance, and these findings may help chart a path to designing new drugs to bolster our antimicrobial treatment options, notes NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. ... Our group is excited by what we have demonstratedan efficient and unique way that gram-positive bacteria control resistanceand we are continuing our investigation of the aps sensing system being used for drug... (EurekAlert!)
The Antibiotics Crisis Jun 1, 2007
With resistance to once effective antimalarials like chloroquine now widespread in Asia, Africa and South America, the prognosis could not seem more grim ... They buy time, but eventually resistance to these compounds will also arise. (Time.com)
Community Associated MRSA On The Rise In Chicago May 30, 2007
MRSA / Drug Resistance News ... Hospitals and other facilities where people with and without infection are housed at the same location for long periods have long been regarded as "epicenters" for antimicrobial resistance ... This study suggests that public housing, prisons and other community settings may also give the bacteria similar opportunities to develop antibiotic resistance because a sufficiently high number of at risk people are close together for long periods of time. (Medical News Today)
Community-associated Staph Infections Involving Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria Increase May 30, 2007
Hospitals and long-term care facilities have long been thought to be "epicenters" for antimicrobial resistance, promoting cross-transmission of resistant bacteria because individuals with and without the bacteria are housed at the same location. These findings suggest that prisons, public housing and other community settings also may promote cross-transmission because large at-risk populations remain together for long periods of time. (Science Daily)
Another Rubber Tree Plant May 16, 2007
In this market, guayule's nonallergenic qualities merit a premium over Hevea, while its greater elasticity and lower resistance make it a better choice than similarly priced synthetics. Look for guayule surgical gloves, too. (FastCompany)
Egyptians, Not Greeks Were True Fathers Of Medicine May 10, 2007
Scientists examining documents dating back 3,500 years say they have found proof that the origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt and not with Hippocrates and the Greeks. The research team from the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at The University of Manchester discovered the evidence in medical papyri written in 1,500BC -- 1,000 years before Hippocrates was born. (Science Daily)
Ondine Announces Clinical Advisory Board Member is Recipient of the 2007 IADR Periodontal Disease Research Award May 7, 2007
Photodisinfection provides broad-spectrum antimicrobial efficacy without encouraging the formation and spread of antibiotic resistance. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a research laboratory in Bothell, Washington, USA and an international office in St Michael, Barbados. (Canada Newswire)
Could a bullfrog hold the answer to MRSA? May 3, 2007
"If you combine two together, there is a lot less chance of it becoming resistant, because the MRSA has to overcome two compounds instead of one. As resistance is a big problem with MRSA, this is really important.". Dr Coote said the two compounds killed the organism extremely quickly and effectively in the 18-month study, which was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. (Scotsman)
Potential MRSA cure in bullfrogs May 1, 2007
Dr Coote, of the university's centre for biomolecular science (CBMS), said: "Our finding represents a potentially novel way to combat MRSA via surface treatment or impregnation of wound dressings. "The development of new routes to target MRSA that do not result in the acquisition of resistance would greatly improve the ability of clinicians to tackle these infections more effectively and cheaply. " Combining antibiotics is a common way of targeting a wide spectrum of organisms and prevents the... (BBC News -- Health)
NHS superbugs on the rise Apr 29, 2007
But Dr Georgia Duckworth, head of the agency's Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance Department, warned that longer periods were needed to assess whether the rate of infection for MRSA and other deadly superbugs is rising or falling. The Conservatives today said the figures showed the NHS recorded the highest-ever number cases of C. difficile in the past year. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Drug and Device Companies Woo Physicians in Many Ways Apr 27, 2007
Designed for pharmacists, this activity reviews the management of antimicrobial resistance in the hospital setting and discusses strategies to prevent the development of more resistant strains. Source: American Academy of CME, Inc.')"> Developed for primary care clinicians, this interactive, case-based activity provides guidance, resources and tools to help you and your office staff improve rates of pediatric immunizations.Source: The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine')". (MedPage Today)
IDSA urges Congress to support Hatch amendments Apr 27, 2007
The FDA Revitalization Act offers an important opportunity to avert the public health crisis that antimicrobial resistance is creating in hospitals and communities across the nation and at the same time to strengthen patient safety ... The FDA Revitalization Act can help to protect patient safety and the public health against antimicrobial resistance ... More information, including IDSAs groundbreaking Bad Bugs, No Drugs report, and fact sheets on antimicrobial resistance and drug... (EurekAlert!)
Science Says Organic and Raw Milk No Better Apr 26, 2007
Microbial resistance. Claim No. 5 is that "Organic milk leads to less antimicrobial resistance." This claim is also false, Bishop said ... He explained, "Research in the U.S. and Switzerland conclusively proved no difference in antibiotic resistance of bacteria isolated from organic and conventionally treated cows.". (Agri-View, WI)
GSK meet no resistance for new antibacterial Apr 17, 2007
16/04/2007 - The approval of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Altabax gives clinicians the first new class of topical antibacterial treatments in nearly 20 years - adding more firepower to the fight against bacterial resistance ... "The introduction of Altabax comes at a time when antibiotic resistance is at an increasingly high level," said Dr Stan Block, President of Kentucky Pediatric and Adult Research ... "In vitro, this new topical antibiotic has shown a low potential for the development of... (DrugResearcher.com)
Study in city reveals E coli resistance to antibiotics is high Apr 15, 2007
Mumbai, April 12: For persons who had received antibiotics, the percentage of resistance of E.coli to naxidixic acid was over 50 per cent and to amoxycillin was over 40 per cent.. The results of a community-based study in central Mumbai, sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO), confirms fears that the indiscriminate use of antibiotics increases patients resistance to them ... The first-of-its-kind study in India, titled Surveillance of bacterial resistance pattern in the community and... (Expressindia.com)
South Africa: Private Hospitals Battle 'Superbugs' Apr 10, 2007
A study published in this month's edition of the South African Medical Journal has revealed extremely high rates of antibiotic resistance among six usually harmless bacteria that can prove lethal if they infect a patient's blood ... "The resistance rates are extremely high and very, very worrying," said the study's lead author, Adrian Brink, a micro- biologist at Ampath Laboratories ... Brink and his colleagues from the National Antimicrobial Surveillance Forum looked for antibiotic resistance... (allAfrica.com)
Killer bug escapes Apr 9, 2007
In a report in the Medical Journal of Australia last year, the Australian Group for Antimicrobial Resistance found community-acquired MRSA had become "a major clinical and public health problem", with infections almost doubling between 2000 and 2004. The group commented in the report that while the proportion of community acquired MRSA strains in Melbourne and Hobart remained lower than in other states, "The large distances between Australian cities have been no barrier to the rapid spread of... (The Age)
'Wrong Drugs Used To Fight Superbugs' Mar 26, 2007
"But what we must remember is that antibiotic resistance is rampant," he said. "We have to think about the drugs we use, as they may provoke other infections rather than targeting the ones we need to treat.". (Sky News)
Will The Plague Pathogen Become Resistant To Antibiotics? Mar 23, 2007
But because the same ability is present in other kinds of bacteria from a broad range of livestock, antibiotic resistance could potentially spread to other Y. pestis and also other bacterial pathogens ... Genetic ability to disable antibiotics, including multidrug resistance (MDR) sequences, is carried on plasmids, small circles of DNA that are passed easily between bacteria ... "What we've done is revealed a mechanism for the acquisition of multidrug resistance in Y. pestis. Obviously, this is... (Science Daily)
Advanced Life Sciences Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2006 Results Mar 22, 2007
Operational and Financial Highlights: Advanced Life Sciences is developing cethromycin, a novel once-a-day ketolide antibiotic, in response to the emerging antibiotic resistance observed in the treatment of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Cethromycin has previously been tested in approximately 4,400 human subjects during clinical trials, and the Company has initiated pivotal phase III clinical trials for the treatment of mild-to-moderate CAP. Advanced Life Sciences accomplished the following... (PR Newswire)
Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology Mar 20, 2007
Therapeutic doses of antibiotics in chicken feed have been administered since the 1950s, but are now discouraged due to increasing rates of antibiotic resistance. In the study researchers tested for B-defensin gallinacin-6 (Gal-6) protein expression in chickens and explored antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as yeast. (EurekAlert!)
Black-White Life Expectancy Gap Narrows Mar 18, 2007
Designed for pharmacists, this activity reviews the management of antimicrobial resistance in the hospital setting and discusses strategies to prevent the development of more resistant strains. Source: American Academy of CME, Inc.')"> This CME podcast, featuring Steven M. Gordon, MD, Chairman of the Infectious Disease Department at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, addresses HAV and HBV transmission in the workplace. In this final interview of the nine-part series, Dr. Gordon discusses the... (MedPage Today)
First comprehensive Canadian antibiotic resistance web resource launched Mar 15, 2007
- RESEARCH PORTAL PROVIDES NEW TOOL IN BATTLE AGAINST SUPERBUGS - HALIFAX, March 15 /CNW/ - The Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA) today announced the launch of a new web portal at the at the joint conference of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (AMMI) Canada and the Canadian Association of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (CACMID) in Halifax ... info) is aimed at supporting and educating Canadian healthcare providers and researchers on... (Canada Newswire)
