Antibiotic Resistance News and Research

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Important advance in understanding the structure of phage viruses

An important advance in understanding the structure of phage viruses, which infect and destroy bacteria, has been made by a team of scientists from Oxford and Finland, which could help develop new strategies to combat bacterial infections.

11 Nov 2004

Benefits to human health associated with the use of antibiotics in chicken may outweigh the potential risks

The potential benefits to human health associated with the use of antibiotics in chicken may outweigh the potential risks, according to a risk-benefit analysis conducted by a team of researchers led by Randall S. Singer, D.V.M., Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

4 Nov 2004

Studies show Pfizer's Azithromycin Microspheres effective as treatment for respiratory tract infections

Pfizer Inc.'s new investigational microsphere formulation of azithromycin, which is dosed as a one-time-only oral antibiotic, is comparable to other frequently prescribed treatments for some of the most common respiratory tract infections in adult patients.

1 Nov 2004

Study results suggest that metronidazole and clindamycin differ in their effects on microbes in women with bacterial vaginosis

In the first study to directly compare the emergence of antibiotic resistance following topical treatment between two antibiotics routinely prescribed for a common vaginal infection, researchers from the Magee-Womens Research Institute have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria more likely to develop with the drug clindamycin than metronidazole.

1 Nov 2004

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis do not necessarily develop resistance to antibiotics

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS, inflammation of the nasal passages and sinuses) do not necessarily develop resistance to antibiotics although they may be treated for long periods of time with these drugs

18 Oct 2004

RiboNovix secures license to novel anti-infective discovery technology from Wayne State University

New biotechnology company, RiboNovix, Inc., is addressing the worsening problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria by developing new anti-infectives that are less susceptible to drug resistance.

5 Oct 2004

Virginia Department of Health and the Get Smart Virginia program are urging consumers to become educated this cold and flu

Additionally, Governor Mark Warner has declared October 2004 Antibiotic Awareness Month in an effort to increase the public’s knowledge about the growing problem of resistance to antibiotic medications.

5 Oct 2004

Drug-resistant bacteria increasingly causing infections in healthy people

An emerging form of so-called "flesh-eating bacteria" is caused by a strain that is resistant to standard first-line antibiotics. The same type of bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is causing record numbers of less-serious skin infections in children and also is emerging as a cause of pneumonia, which can be deadly

30 Sep 2004

Some New York City stores are selling antibiotics illegally over the counter

In many countries around the world antibiotics are sold without a prescription, a practice that is illegal in the United States.

30 Sep 2004

29 percent of California women mistakenly believe a cold or flu should be treated with an antibiotic

Illustrating the extent of Americans’ lack of knowledge about antibiotics, 29 percent of California women queried mistakenly believe a cold or flu should be treated with an antibiotic, according to results of a survey being presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

20 Sep 2004

Experts discuss antibiotic resistance, tuberculosis, malaria, vaccines, maternal mortality, childhood diseases and health sector reform

New challenges ahead and the unfinished agenda in public health in the Americas" will be the focus of joint efforts by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

14 Sep 2004

Pigs and other farm animals are harbouring major reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

The scientists were concerned about the effects that decades of use of antibiotics to treat infections, prevent diseases, or promote growth, have had on the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in common farm bacteria.

8 Sep 2004

New way of killing dangerous bacteria like the ones which cause anthrax and pneumonia

The new bug-smashing technique uses the bacteria’s own natural enemies, tiny viruses called bacteriophages (or phages), which can infect bacterial cells. The phages make thousands of copies of themselves inside infected bacteria, but then need to dissolve the bacteria’s cell wall to get out and infect other bacterial cells.

7 Sep 2004

Bee stings may provide a solution to overcome MRSA superbugs

Bee stings may provide a solution to overcome the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria according to new research presented Monday by Belfast scientists at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

7 Sep 2004

Research unlocks the mystery of the miraculous healing powers of honey

A Sydney researcher has unlocked the mystery of the miraculous healing powers of honey, adding to the calls for its use as a first line defence against serious infection.

11 Aug 2004

Hospital anti-infection strategy probably won't work

Hospital patients increasingly face tenacious bacterial infections because microbes found in hospitals acquire resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics. A recent strategy alternating the most commonly used antibiotics has sparked hope of stopping the spread of antibiotic resistance.

9 Aug 2004

Growing crisis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Scientists, the federal government and the pharmaceutical industry must work together quickly to solve the growing crisis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a Virginia Commonwealth University infectious disease expert said in today's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

5 Aug 2004

New diagnoses of STIs increased by four per cent from 678,709 in 2002 to 708,083

Overall, new diagnoses of STIs in GUM clinics increased by four per cent from 678,709 in 2002 to 708,083 during 2003. However the picture is variable, with diagnoses of some infections such as chlamydia and syphilis increasing, and diagnoses of gonorrhoea and genital herpes declining.

27 Jul 2004

Yeast and tea tree oil kill MRSA superbug

Manchester Metropolitan University is working with a cutting edge technology firm to find a treatment for the hospital superbug MRSA which kills 5,000 patients each year.

23 Jul 2004

Human Tissue Bill is in need of further amendment

The Human Tissue Bill is in need of further amendment said the Medical Research Council (MRC) today (Monday 28 June 2004) as the Bill enters the Report Stage and has its third reading.

29 Jun 2004