Clostridium News and Research

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Misoprostol off-label use may have led to deaths

Preliminary U-M studies indicate that oral use of RU-486's companion drug misoprostol is safe, but vaginal use may undermine body's immune responses

16 Jun 2008

Clostridium difficile killed on exposure to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze

Scientists in the Environmental Healthcare Unit at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have found that infectious bacterium Clostridium difficile is killed when exposed to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze. The results of the study have been published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection.

3 Jun 2008

New research into superbug Clostridium difficile

New research into the toxins, virulence, spread and prevention of the superbug Clostridium difficile is reported in the June special issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology. These findings will play a crucial role in providing us with ammunition in the fight against a sometimes deadly pathogen.

1 Jun 2008

Lotion which glows under ultraviolet light lights up nasty bacteria

A team of Canadian scientists using a lotion which glows under ultraviolet light have shown that up to a third of patient toilets are not properly cleaned. Their findings, published in BioMed Central's journal, BMC Infectious Diseases, also show that spores from the nasty bacteria Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) linger in the loo even when it has been thoroughly wiped down.

11 May 2008

New deadly superbug Steno an ever-increasing threat

Scientists in the Britain say hospitals could be facing an increasing threat from yet another deadly bacterial infection with the potential to rapidly develop a resistance to drugs.

8 May 2008

Scientists determine drug target for the most potent botulinum neurotoxin

Botulinum neurotoxin - responsible for the deadly food poisoning disease botulism and for the beneficial effects of smoothing out facial wrinkles - can also be used as a dreaded biological weapon. When ingested or inhaled, less than a billionth of an ounce can cause muscle paralysis and eventual death. Although experimental vaccines administered prior to exposure can inhibit the destructive action of this neurotoxin - the most deadly protein known to humans - no effective pharmacological treatment exists.

29 Apr 2008

Botox scare as scientists say the toxin may spread in the body

Scientists are warning that the anti-wrinkle treatment Botox used by millions of women every year can spread from the face to the brain.

3 Apr 2008

MRSA in hospital intensive care -- what's growing where?

Researchers are finding out which bugs grow in intensive care units to develop a novel sampling regime that would indicate the threat of MRSA and other superbugs in the environment, scientists heard (Monday 31 March 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

31 Mar 2008

A national Clostridium difficile prevalence study

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has announced a detailed strategy to combat Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD).

24 Mar 2008

Anadis licenses antibody technologies from ImmuCell

Anadis Limited, an Australian-based biotechnology company focused on milk derived polyclonal antibodies and other milk-derived bioactives, announced today that it had signed a final agreement with ImmuCell Corporation, a biotechnology company headquartered in Portland, Maine, USA.

11 Mar 2008

Tackling antimicrobial resistance

Drug resistance is making many diseases increasingly difficult and sometimes impossible to treat, according to Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Mar 2008

Scientists identify proteins that help bacteria put up a fight

Scientists have identified the role of two proteins that contribute to disease-causing bacteria cells' versatility in resisting certain classes of antibiotics.

27 Feb 2008

New cause identified for necrotic enteritis in chicken

Researchers from Monash University and CSIRO Livestock Industries have demonstrated for the first time that alpha-toxin protein, long thought to be required for necrotic enteritis to develop, is not the main cause of the chicken disease.

8 Feb 2008

FDA warns on green bean and garbanzo bean contamination

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that New Era Canning Company, New Era, Mich., is expanding its product recall because of potential Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum) contamination to all canned green beans and garbanzo beans distributed by the company nationwide over the last five years.

21 Jan 2008

Kiss but don't shake hands to stay healthy!

Scientists from the London School of Hygiene say a quick "air kiss" on the cheek is a relatively-germ free affair when compared to a hand-shake.

16 Jan 2008

Brits get to grips with superbugs

The British government, as part of it's fight against 'superbugs' such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureu (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile, has promised every hospital the funds to recruit four specialist nurses to help curb the infections.

10 Jan 2008

Biochemist wins grant to develop cellular molecular probes capable of measuring cholesterol levels

Alejandro P. Heuck, a biochemist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has received a four-year, $308,000 grant from the American Heart Association to develop molecular probes capable of measuring cholesterol levels in the membranes of individual cells.

7 Jan 2008