Antimicrobial Resistance News and Research

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Rapid DNA biochip tests for screening disease-causing bacteria

Patients affected by a bacterial infection can usually be treated with an antibiotic. But sometimes a resistant bacterial strain is causing the infection. In a hospital setting, doctors ideally want to know if they are dealing with such bacteria and which drugs they should choose. But if the doctor runs a test it can take days to get a result. Now, a European project is paving the way for much more rapid tests using DNA biochips. The aim is to rapidly screen disease-causing bacteria using a microarray to spot which resistant genes are present in bacteria.

20 Nov 2013

TAILORED-Treatment project to increase effectiveness of antibiotics receives EU funding

The European Union has funded a 4 year project called TAILORED-Treatment with € 6.000.000,-. The main goal of TAILORED -Treatment is to establish a strategy that can be used to increase the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment, reduce any potential side-effects of therapy, and help limit the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in hospitalized children and adults. The project will be coordinated by Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

14 Nov 2013

Polyphor, Roche agree to develop and commercialize antibiotic for bacterial infections

Polyphor Ltd, a privately held pharmaceutical company, and Roche announced today that they have entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement to develop and commercialize Polyphor's investigational macrocycle antibiotic, POL7080, for patients suffering from bacterial infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

4 Nov 2013

Queen's University is lead partner in £6M global research program to develop new ways to treat CF

Queen's University Belfast is a lead partner in a new -6 million (euro) global research programme to develop new ways to treat Cystic Fibrosis.

30 Oct 2013

WHO report underlines need for quantum leap in TB care and control

Tuberculosis treatment has saved the lives of more than 22 million people, according to the WHO Global tuberculosis report 2013 published today. The report also reveals that the number of people ill with tuberculosis fell in 2012 to 8.6 million, with global TB deaths also decreasing to 1.3 million.

23 Oct 2013

UTHealth professor receives Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement from IDSA

Cesar Arias, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School, was bestowed the Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

12 Oct 2013

Researchers re-invented class of popular antimicrobial drugs by altering their chemical structures

By tinkering with their chemical structures, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have essentially re-invented a class of popular antimicrobial drugs, restoring and in some cases, expanding or improving, their effectiveness against drug-resistant pathogens in animal models.

8 Oct 2013

Incidence of MRSA bacterial infection increases among Danes

In 2012, 1,556 Danes were found positive with methicillin-resistant staphylococci - MRSA. This represents an increase of 20% from 2011. In fact, the total number of cases has almost doubled since 2009. MRSA bacteria are resistant to antimicrobial agents that are essential for treatment of treating life-threatening infections in humans.

19 Sep 2013

High exposure to swine manure in crop fields linked with increased risk of MRSA, soft-tissue infection

High exposure to swine manure spread in crop fields and proximity to high-density swine livestock operations appear to be associated with increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and skin and soft-tissue infection in humans, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

17 Sep 2013

Funding for antimicrobial resistance research projects in the UK unacceptably small, say researchers

Study of funding awarded to antimicrobial resistance research projects in the UK calls for political leadership and sustained and targeted spending.

13 Sep 2013

WHO hand-hygiene compliance strategy easy for health-care workers to practise

WHO's strategy for improving hand hygiene is easy for health-care workers to practise, according to a new study published today in "Lancet Infectious Diseases". Health care-associated infections are a major threat to patient safety worldwide and transmission in these settings is mainly from the hands of health-care workers.

23 Aug 2013

Safe Life FZC employs NanoSeptic self-cleaning products to combat MERS outbreak

Safe Life FZC, a new breed of healthcare distributors based in United Arab Emirates, is employing the latest technology to combat dangerous outbreaks like the deadly Coronavirus or MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome).

18 Jul 2013

Research unravels a novel means of communication that allows bacteria to resist antibiotic treatment

New research from Western University unravels a novel means of communication that allows bacteria such as Burkholderia cenocepacia (B. cenocepacia) to resist antibiotic treatment. B. cenocepacia is an environmental bacterium that causes devastating infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or with compromised immune systems.

4 Jul 2013

BioFire Diagnostics' FilmArray Blood Culture Identification Panel receives FDA clearance

BioFire Diagnostics, Inc., announced today the FDA clearance of its FilmArray Blood Culture Identification Panel. To date, the 27-target panel is the most comprehensive test to be approved by the FDA.

26 Jun 2013

BioFire Diagnostics' FilmArray Blood Culture Identification Panel receives CE IVD Mark

BioFire Diagnostics, Inc. announced today that it obtained the CE IVD Mark under the European Directive on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices for its FilmArray Blood Culture Identification Panel.

6 Jun 2013

Duke University is awarded $2M to initiate new clinical research network on antibacterial resistance

Duke University, Durham, N.C., has been awarded $2 million to initiate a new clinical research network focused on antibacterial resistance. Total funding for the leadership group cooperative agreement award could reach up to $62 million through 2019.

4 Jun 2013

U.S. on the verge of potentially devastating epidemic of untreatable gonorrhea

Gonorrhea has long been one of the most commonly-reported sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the U.S. and, unfortunately, with rising antimicrobial resistance, it has also become one of the most frightening for public health.

24 Apr 2013

Unnecessary use of antibiotics in elderly women in EDs increases risk of unintended consequences

Older adults represent an important and growing demographic in emergency departments across the country, with urinary tract infections being one of the leading causes for ED visits.

23 Apr 2013

Texas scientist says nonmedical community should be educated about long-term effects of antibiotic overuse and misuse

When thousands of experimental biology researchers gather in Boston this weekend, many of them undoubtedly will be presenting work related to the hunt for the next generation of antibiotics and how to battle back existing and emerging superbugs.

22 Apr 2013

Time dwindling to meet IDSA goal of 10 new antibiotics by 2020

Despite the desperate need for new antibiotics to combat increasingly deadly resistant bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only one new systemic antibiotic since the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched its 10 x '20 Initiative in 2010 - and that drug was approved two and a half years ago.