Staphylococcus aureus News and Research

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Staphylococcus aureus is a spherical bacterium (coccus) which on microscopic examination appears in pairs, short chains, or bunched, grape-like clusters. These organisms are Gram-positive. Some strains are capable of producing a highly heat-stable protein toxin that causes illness in humans.

New silk-based microneedle system for controlled-release drug delivery

Bioengineers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed a new silk-based microneedle system able to deliver precise amounts of drugs over time and without need for refrigeration. The tiny needles can be fabricated under normal temperature and pressure and from water, so they can be loaded with sensitive biochemical compounds and maintain their activity prior to use. They are also biodegradable and biocompatible.

22 Dec 2011

Poor handling of oranges in squeezing machines stimulates bacterial contamination

Scientists from the University of Valencia in Spain have analysed fresh orange juice squeezed by machines in catering establishments. They have confirmed that 43% of samples exceeded the acceptable enterobacteriaceae levels laid down by legislation. The researchers recommend that oranges are handled correctly, that juicers are washed properly and that the orange juice is served immediately rather than being stored in metal jugs.

15 Dec 2011

FDA approves modernized labeling for ViroPharma's Vancocin Capsules

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced the modernization of labeling for Vancocin (vancomycin hydrochloride, USP) Capsules made effective through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of a supplemental new drug application.

15 Dec 2011

Overview of epidemiological situation with regard to MRSA in Germany

In German hospitals, each year 132 000 patients contract infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). For more than a decade, different countries have reported an increasing incidence of MRSA infections in the general population.

30 Nov 2011

BD MAX MRSA Assay receives CE Mark approval

BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD, today announced that it obtained CE Marking for the BD MAX MRSA Assay to rapidly and accurately identify methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in patients.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 24 Nov 2011

WSU researchers to study novel antibiotic that may treat VRE infection

The bacteria Enterococcus can cause infections that typically target the digestive tract or bowel; if the bacteria spread, an abdominal abscess or urinary infection could result. Enterococcus also can invade the bloodstream, leading to meningitis, pneumonia or endocarditis - an infection of the heart valve.

17 Nov 2011

Non-therapeutic antibiotic usage in food animals creates resistance genes, promotes antibiotic resistance

In a review study, researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine zero in on the controversial, non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food animals and fish farming as a cause of antibiotic resistance.

16 Nov 2011

Great Basin seeks FDA 510(k) approval for C. difficile molecular diagnostic test

Great Basin Corporation, a privately held life sciences company developing sample-to-result molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced it has submitted a 510(k) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its first molecular diagnostic test for Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

14 Nov 2011

Mutations make Staph more resistant to antibiotics

Infectious diseases specialists from Austin Health are working closely with Microbiologists from the University of Melbourne to understand how Staph is becoming resistant to all antibiotic therapies.

11 Nov 2011

Hand washing in hospitals may keep super bugs away: Report

A recent survey of hospitals has shown that the successful implementation of good hand washing practices in hospitals by nurses and doctors is effective in reducing the drug resistant superbugs. This comes after the introduction of a national program to boost hand hygiene compliance rates in hospitals by encouraging staff to use alcohol-based hand rubs before and after treating patients. To make it easier for hospital workers to clean their hands, alcohol-based hand rubs are being installed at the foot or near the head of every bed.

10 Nov 2011

MRSA co-infection increases risk of flu-related mortality among children

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, many previously healthy children became critically ill, developing severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, sometimes fatal. The largest nationwide investigation to date of influenza in critically ill children, led by Children's Hospital Boston, found one key risk factor: Simultaneous infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) increased the risk for flu-related mortality 8-fold among previously healthy children.

7 Nov 2011

AHRQ awarded $34M in fiscal year 2011 to expand fight against HAIs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced that it has awarded $34 million in fiscal year 2011 for grants and contracts to hospitals, academic medical institutions, and health care research organizations to expand the fight against healthcare-associated infections.

5 Nov 2011

Ansell launches GAMMEX Powder-Free glove with AMT Antimicrobial Technology in Europe

Global leader in healthcare protection and safety solutions lands CE Mark for GAMMEX Powder-Free Gloves with AMT Antimicrobial Technology.

5 Nov 2011

Rothman researchers to develop gold standard definition for periprosthetic joint infection

A rise in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) rates has the orthopedic community moving to develop it's first-ever agreed upon definition and diagnostic criteria to help better treat patients.

5 Nov 2011

'Medicine that grows' confronts antibiotics resistance

It's been called "the trots," "Montezuma's Revenge," "the runs" and worse. But no matter the name, when it strikes, victims wish for a medicine that could go straight to the offending bacteria to quickly knock it dead.

4 Nov 2011

Inhibitex third quarter revenue increases to $1.3 million

Inhibitex, Inc. today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011 and provided an update on several recent corporate developments, including top-line safety and antiviral data from the first cohort in its ongoing clinical trial designed to evaluate higher doses of INX-189, an oral nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, being developed to treat chronic infections caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), administered as monotherapy or in combination with ribavirin for seven days.

4 Nov 2011

Study finds multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in 48% of infected patient rooms

Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) was found in the environment of 48 percent of the rooms of patients colonized or infected with the pathogen, according to a new study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

2 Nov 2011

New MRSA strains are not directly descended from old ones: Study

Check into a hospital and you run the risk of infection with a methicillin-resistant strain of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. But present day MRSA might have been worse if it had descended directly from a 1950s version of the bug, according to a study co-authored by Barry N. Kreiswirth, PhD, a professor at the Public Health Research Institute of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Oct 2011

New genomic approach can trace food-borne bacteria with unprecedented accuracy

With salmonella-tainted ground turkey sickening more than 100 people and listeria-contaminated cantaloupes killing 15 this year, the ability to detect outbreaks of food-borne illness and determine their sources has become a top public health priority.

27 Oct 2011

Drug-resistant infections may not contribute to higher surgical ICU death rates

The rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) have increased over the last decade. But new research from the University of Virginia suggests that surgical ICU death rates may, in fact, be declining and that drug-resistant infections are not likely to be a significant factor in overall mortality rates.

27 Oct 2011