Antibiotic Resistance News and Research

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Prescribing antibiotics to children remains common practice

Regular prescribing of antibiotics to children in the community is sufficient to sustain a high level of antibiotic resistance in the population, warn experts in a study published on bmj.com.

27 Jul 2007

GPs antibiotic prescribing practices are still contributing to resistance

GPs are still prescribing antibiotics for up to 80% of cases of sore throat, otitis media, upper respiratory tract infections, and sinusitis, despite the fact that official guidance warns against this practice, according to an analysis of the world's largest primary care database of consultations and prescriptions, published this week in a supplement to the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

26 Jul 2007

New weapon in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Putting bacteria on birth control could stop the spread of drug-resistant microbes, and researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found a way to do just that.

10 Jul 2007

Scientists tackle deadly hospital superbugs

It infiltrates hospitals as microscopic spores. Its defences are so strong it can resist most antibiotics. And it kills three times as many people every year as MRSA. But scientists at The University of Nottingham are amassing an arsenal of weapons in preparation for counter offensive against the most deadly of hospital superbugs.

4 Jul 2007

FDA stops Chinese seafood importation

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced a broader import control of all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace (related to carp), and eel from China.

29 Jun 2007

New compound kills fungal pathogens

A new mechanism to attack hard-to-treat fungal infections has been revealed by scientists from the biotech company Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., California, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) outstation in Grenoble, France.

23 Jun 2007

RNA polymerase points to new targets for drug design

Researchers at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) have new information on the structure of a key enzyme in bacteria that could lead to improved antibiotics and less antibiotic resistance.

23 Jun 2007

FDA approves Differin (adapalene) gel, 0.3% for acne

Galderma Laboratories, L.P., has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Differin (adapalene) Gel, 0.3%, a new, higher concentration formulation of Differin (adapalene) 0.1%, a topical retinoid indicated for the treatment of acne.

23 Jun 2007

Could the food we eat be contributing to the continuing rise of antibiotic-resistant infections?

Harmless and even beneficial bacteria that exist in our food supply may also be carrying genes that code for antibiotic resistance.Once in our bodies, could they transmit the resistance genes to disease-causing bacteria?

24 May 2007

Bovine protein called lactoferrin aids in treatment of gastrointestinal disorder

Recent evidence suggests that therapy currently used to treat Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a major cause of upper gastrointestinal disorders, is unsuccessful in around 25 percent of cases.

17 May 2007

Top 10 diseases by cost

Bladder, prostate and other urinary tract diseases cost Americans nearly $11 billion a year, according to a new report from the National Institutes of Health.

2 May 2007

Nasal spray of virus enzymes for ear infections

Parents might one day give their children a weekly treatment with a nasal spray of virus enzymes to prevent them from getting severe middle ear infections, based on results of a study done in mice by investigators from St. Jude and The Rockefeller University.

27 Apr 2007

Surprising new theory on antibiotic resistance

A surprising new theory developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska, suggests that some bacterial cells act as "suicide bombers" in cell communities, with the altruistic intention of dying for the common good - and in the process, strengthening other cells that then become resistant to antibiotic drugs.

25 Apr 2007

Johns Hopkins to test all children for 'superbugs'

Infection control and critical care experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital have ordered testing for the two most common hospital superbugs for every child admitted to its pediatric intensive care unit.

17 Apr 2007

FDA approves GlaxoSmithKline's antibacterial Altabax

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its antibacterial Altabax for the topical treatment of impetigo due to susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes, the two most common types of bacteria in this kind of infection.

14 Apr 2007

Exchange of E. coli between humans and chimps in Uganda

Scientists from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana have found that people employed in chimpanzee-focused research and tourism in a park in western Uganda are exchanging gastrointestinal bacteria - specifically Escherichia coli - with local chimpanzee populations. And some of the E. coli strains migrating to chimps are resistant to antibiotics used by humans in Uganda.

22 Feb 2007