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Scientists evaluate rapid test that detects colistin resistance gene in bacterial isolates

Colistin is used as the "last-resort antibiotic" for dreaded multidrug-resistant pathogens, especially in hospitals. However, gut bacteria that have become insensitive to colistin now exist -- owing to the mobile resistance gene mcr-1. In early 2016, bacteria carrying this resistance gene were detected in Germany for the first time.

6 Feb 2017

Researchers discover how bacterial enzyme can blunt the body's key immune defenses

Scientists have discovered how a unique bacterial enzyme can blunt the body's key weapons in its fight against infection.

20 Jan 2017

Scientists turn iron-scavenging power against common UTI-causing bacteria

For most invading bacteria, the bladder is not a friendly place. But for those that have figured out how to scavenge iron from their hosts, it's a fine place to grow and reproduce.

7 Nov 2016

Researchers identify drug-resistant superbug in Australian domestic animal

The first evidence of a superbug in a domestic cat that could infect humans and livestock has been discovered in Australia.

31 Oct 2016

Penn Medicine awarded CDC grant to develop new approaches to combat antibiotic resistance

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has been awarded more than $1 million by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop new approaches to combat antibiotic resistance.

6 Oct 2016

Contaminated poultry may be source of human exposure to MRSA, research shows

A new study offers compelling evidence that a novel form of the dangerous superbug Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can spread to humans through consumption or handling of contaminated poultry.

21 Sep 2016

RIT professor receives federal award for research to help combat threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A Rochester Institute of Technology professor has received a federal award for research that could help in the critical battle to develop new drugs to combat the drastic rise in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

2 Sep 2016

Researchers find new way to kill Staphylococcus aureus bacteria

Scientists have discovered a new way to attack Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The team, from Imperial College London, have revealed how the bacteria regulates its salt levels.

16 Aug 2016

Researchers explain why secondary infection with MRSA kills influenza patients

Researchers have discovered that secondary infection with the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterium (or "superbug") often kills influenza patients because the flu virus alters the antibacterial response of white blood cells, causing them to damage the patients' lungs instead of destroying the bacterium.

16 Aug 2016

Researchers receive $9 million grant to develop novel platform to quickly identify new antibiotics

In September 2014, President Obama issued an executive order for "Combating Antibiotic- Resistant Bacteria." Why the urgency? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the order noted, "estimates that annually at least 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths are caused by antibiotic- resistant bacteria in the United States alone."

11 Jul 2016

New superbug test developed by TGen-NAU receives Australian patent

Antibiotic-resistant infections should be easier to detect, and hospitals could become safer, thanks to a technology developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Northern Arizona University, and protected under a patent issued by Australia.

16 Jun 2016

Superbug resistant to last resort antibiotic identified in the US

Researchers have identified a transferrable gene for colistin resistance in the U.S. that may mean the “end of the road” for antibiotics.

27 May 2016

MSF responds to Lord O'Neill's recommendations on how to defeat drug resistance and superbugs

The O'Neill report confirms what MSF has long voiced. The pharmaceutical industry’s system for researching and developing medicines is not always delivering the drugs, vaccines and diagnostics needed. When they are developed, they are often unaffordable or not suitable for the people who need them most

19 May 2016

Scientists uncover whole new way of treating antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Australian scientists may have found a way to stop deadly bacteria from infecting patients. The discovery could lead to a whole new way of treating antibiotic-resistant "superbugs". The researchers have uncovered what may be an Achilles heel on the bacteria cell membrane that could act as a potential novel drug target.

17 May 2016

Scientists evaluate phage-based therapy to battle antibiotic-resistant bacterial superbug infections

Flinders University scientists are looking to bacteriophages – highly specific viruses - as the as the best way to attack antibiotic-resistant bacterial superbug infections.

21 Apr 2016

Coordinated efforts could prevent spread of CRE infection in health care facilities

A simulation of how the so-called "superbug" carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) might spread among health care facilities found that coordinated efforts prevented more than 75 percent of the often-severe infections that would have otherwise occurred over a five-year period.

13 Apr 2016

TGen investigators help track hypervirulent strep outbreak in southwestern U.S.

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) has helped state, local and tribal health officials identify an outbreak of "hypervirulent" strep bacteria in the American Southwest.

22 Mar 2016

One-fourth of seniors acquire new superbugs during hospital stay

One in four seniors is bringing along stowaways from the hospital to their next stop: superbugs on their hands.Moreover, seniors who go to a nursing home or other post-acute care facility will continue to acquire new superbugs during their stay, according to findings made by University of Michigan researchers published today in a JAMA Internal Medicine research letter.

15 Mar 2016

Anti-bacterial fabrics show promise against superbugs

Antibiotics have proven to be a valuable weapon in the fight against infectious bacteria. However, due to the excess use of antibiotics in conventional treatments, overtime antibiotics have become less effective.

1 Mar 2016

New research shows copper can destroy MRSA in touch contamination

New research from the University of Southampton shows that copper can destroy MRSA spread by touching and fingertip contamination of surfaces.

24 Feb 2016