Antibiotic News and Research

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Antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms.

New method of developing antibiotics

University of Minnesota and University of Michigan researchers have discovered a new method of developing antibiotics, an important step in fighting the growing number of drug-resistant infections.

12 Sep 2006

Study shows how the plague bacteria Yersinia pestis causes disease

The bacteria responsible for the plague and some forms of food poisoning "paralyze" the immune system of their hosts in an unexpected way, according to a new study in the September 8, 2006 issue of the journal Cell.

7 Sep 2006

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital learning from 9/11

With the nation's busiest burn center and the metropolitan area's largest hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fleet, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rescued and treated many survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

7 Sep 2006

Messy nappies may be sign of severe intestinal infection

Anyone who's ever cared for an infant or young child knows what it's like to change the occasional smelly, messy diaper.

5 Sep 2006

African plant root, Paullinia pinnata, may be the answer to MRSA

A plant root used in Africa as a traditional remedy could hold the key to combating the potentially fatal Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection, according to research findings presented today at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester.

4 Sep 2006

Record morbidity in Africa from Borreliosis, or relapsing fever

Borreliosis, or relapsing fever, is a disease provoked by bacteria of the genus Borrelia. Two of these are encountered in tropical Africa: Borrelia crocidurae in the Sahara and Sahel, Borrelia duttoni in East Africa.

4 Sep 2006

Emergent BioSolutions awarded $3.8 million to develop anthrax immune globulin therapeutic

Emergent BioSolutions has announced that it has been awarded two grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) totaling $3.8 million to support the development of the company's anthrax immune globulin (AIG) therapeutic product.

1 Sep 2006

MRSA - surveillance, rapid screening and hospital hygiene

The origins and future perspectives about meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are outlined in a Review in this week's issue of The Lancet.

31 Aug 2006

Lyme disease vaccine could be on the cards

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere, and the most common tick-borne illness in the United States and Europe.

24 Aug 2006

Antibiotic-resistant MRSA all too common

Researchers in the U.S. say that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA is the most common cause of skin and soft-tissue infections among patients presenting in emergency rooms across the country.

20 Aug 2006

Genotoxic bacteria in the digestive tract

Escherichia coli is a commensal bacterium, which lives peacefully in our digestive tract. However, certain strains are pathogenic and are frequently incriminated in a broad spectrum of infections, affecting both farmed animals and humans (diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, food poisoning, septicaemia, neonatal meningitis, etc.).

16 Aug 2006

Dodgy Chinese antibiotic kills at least 7

According to the Ministry of Health in China at least 7 deaths have now been linked to the injectable antibiotic clindamycin phosphate glucose.

10 Aug 2006

Antioxidants may protect against Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other tick-borne illness

For hikers, campers and others who enjoy the outdoors, summer can bring concerns about tick bites and related illnesses such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

9 Aug 2006

Probiotic drinks - not all brands live up to claims

According to experts as many as half of all probiotic health drinks do not contain the healthy bacteria they claim on the label.

8 Aug 2006

Oragenics issued new patent for novel antibiotic peptide

Oragenics has announced that the US Patent office has issued a fourth patent (No. 7,067,125), that further describes the composition and uses of the company's exclusively licensed novel antibiotic peptide, MU1140.

8 Aug 2006

Chinese antibiotic suspected of being a killer jab

An antibiotic which is suspected to be responsible for three deaths has been banned in China and all stocks have been recalled.

6 Aug 2006

Reappraisal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa hospital-acquired pneumonia mortality

Patients suffering from hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria that is highly resistant to virtually all antibiotics are twice as likely to die as patients infected with other, less resistant bacteria.

6 Aug 2006

New rules for hospital visitors in the UK

A major hospital group in the UK has banned visitors from sitting on patients' beds in hospital in an attempt to curb the spread of the superbug MRSA.

2 Aug 2006

New, shorter tuberculosis treatments could advance control

The introduction of new, shorter treatments for tuberculosis could have a dramatic effect on global efforts to reduce the number of cases and deaths from tuberculosis, according to a new study published in PLoS Medicine.

2 Aug 2006

HHS to stockpile Anthrax immune globulin

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will purchase 10,000 therapeutic courses of treatment of Anthrax Immune Globulin (AIG) from Cangene Corporation of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for a total of $143,833,719.

30 Jul 2006