Superbug News and Research

RSS

New model for ventilator-associated pneumonia reveals path to improved treatments

Scientists at The University of Warwick have made a breakthrough which could help find new treatments for a deadly infection that can affect up to 40% of hospital patients using mechanical ventilators.

16 Aug 2024

Hospital discharges linked to higher MRSA risk for family members

Family members of patients recently discharged from the hospital may have a higher risk of getting an antibiotic-resistant infection, often called a superbug, even if the patient was not diagnosed with the same infection, suggesting hospitals play a role in the community spread of resistant bacteria, according to study in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

7 Aug 2024

MSU team creates a promising vaccine candidate for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Driven by the overuse of antimicrobials, pathogens are quickly building up resistances to once-successful treatments.

24 Apr 2024

Superbug spread is not just about antibiotics, new study shows

For the first time, researchers have analyzed the impact of antibiotic use on the rise of treatment-resistant bacteria over the last 20 years in the UK and Norway. They show that while the increase in drug use has amplified the spread of superbugs, it is not the only driver.

11 Jan 2024

New nano-thin superbug-slaying material could revolutionize wound healing

Researchers have invented a nano-thin superbug-slaying material that could one day be integrated into wound dressings and implants to prevent or heal bacterial infections.

14 Sep 2023

Australian researchers uncover new genetic insights into Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia

Australian researchers have uncovered new genetic insights into Staphylococcus aureus, revealing what makes the bacterium so dangerous when it enters the blood.

12 Sep 2023

New powerful antibiotic isolated from bacteria could combat multi-resistant 'superbugs'

A new powerful antibiotic, isolated from bacteria that could not be studied before, seems capable to combat harmful bacteria and even multi-resistant 'superbugs'.

22 Aug 2023

Advancing new antibiotics through the later stages of clinical testing

A report by University of Queensland researchers has warned a global crisis of antibiotic resistance is inevitable, despite promising developments in new antibiotics.

25 Jul 2023

Efficient machine learning pipeline predicts the location of nanoscale interactions

Identifying whether and how a nanoparticle and protein will bind with one another is an important step toward being able to design antibiotics and antivirals on demand, and a computer model developed at the University of Michigan can do it.

6 Jun 2023

Mouse study offers clues to developing an effective vaccine for Klebsiella bacteria

A mouse study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis points to data that could be key to developing an effective vaccine for the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae.

18 May 2023

Researchers discover how the A. baumannii can survive harsh environments

The deadly hospital pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii can live for a year on a hospital wall without food and water. Then, when it infects a vulnerable patient, it resists antibiotics as well as the body's built-in infection-fighting response.

16 May 2023

Co-infection with MRSA ‘superbug’ could make COVID-19 outcomes even more deadly

Global data shows nearly 10 per cent of severe COVID-19 cases involve a secondary bacterial co-infection – with Staphylococcus aureus, also known as Staph A., being the most common organism responsible for co-existing infections with SARS-CoV-2.

21 Mar 2023

Study investigates spread of Klebsiella superbug between humans and the environment

An international team of scientists investigating transmission of a deadly drug-resistant bacteria that rivals MRSA, has found that whilst the bugs are found in livestock, pets and the wider environment, they are rarely transmitted to humans through this route.

22 Nov 2022

New engineered peptides could prevent the superbug crisis

A recent study reports the development of a synthetic antibacterial peptide PLG0206.

22 Sep 2022

Highly antibiotic-resistant strain of MRSA on pigs is capable of rapidly adapting to human hosts

A new study has found that a highly antibiotic-resistant strain of the superbug MRSA – methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus – has emerged in livestock in the last 50 years, probably due to widespread antibiotic use in pig farming.

28 Jun 2022

Study reveals how common drug-resistant superbug responds to ‘last resort’ antibiotic

A study published today in Cell Reports reveals how populations of a bacterium called Pseudomonas respond to being treated with Colistin, a 'last resort' antibiotic for patients who have developed multi-drug resistant infections.

7 Jun 2022

Study offers clues about the shift of harmless environmental bacterium to a dreaded pathogen

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are often particularly difficult to treat because the pathogens have developed resistance to common antibiotics.

3 Jun 2022

Her first colonoscopy cost her $0. Her second cost $2,185. Why?

Elizabeth Melville and her husband are gradually hiking all 48 mountain peaks that top 4,000 feet in New Hampshire.

31 May 2022

New funding boost to combat antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics have saved countless lives since they were introduced in the 1940s, curing infections and making procedures like chemotherapy and surgeries safer. But their effectiveness is waning.

19 May 2022

Novel surface treatment could help improve safety of medical devices, prevent hospital infections

A hospital or medical clinic might be the last place you'd expect to pick up a nasty infection, but approximately 1.7 million Americans do each year, resulting in nearly 100,000 deaths from infection-related complications and roughly $30 billion in direct medical costs.