Clostridium News and Research

RSS

Research shows how poisonous proteins of Clostridium difficile penetrate intestinal cells

Treating bacterial infections with antibiotics often kills intestinal flora, leading to diarrhoea and inflammation of the gut.

12 Sep 2018

How 'bad' bacteria gain an upper hand in the human gut

A study has revealed that the bacterium C. difficile gains a competitive advantage over protective bacteria in the human gut by producing para-cresol.

11 Sep 2018

Hunterdon Medical Center uses LightStrike robot to quickly zap away pathogens

As germs and bacteria become increasingly resistant to cleaning chemicals and antibiotics, Hunterdon Medical Center recently deployed Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots that use pulsed xenon ultraviolet light to enhance traditional room cleaning procedures as a key part of the hospital's infection prevention program.

10 Sep 2018

Researchers report challenges in reducing tetanus mortality

The overall mortality in patients suffering non-neonatal tetanus is high. Efforts to reduce mortality in one sub-Saharan African intensive care unit by implementing a standard tetanus protocol did little to change mortality rates, although they shifted causes of deaths, researchers have now reported in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

31 Aug 2018

SBPH enhances patient safety with Xenex LightStrike room disinfection robot

St. Bernard Parish Hospital is enhancing patient safety and reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infections with a Xenex LightStrike room disinfection robot.

28 Aug 2018

Texas man bitten by shark being treated for flesh-eating bacteria infection

Blain Shelton, a 42-year-old Texas man was swimming around 200 yards off the shore of Boliver Island near Galveston on 9th of August when he encountered a shark.

24 Aug 2018

Antimicrobial stewardship programs in dialysis facilities can minimize infections, deaths, and costs

A new analysis indicates that implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs in out-patient dialysis facilities can lead to significant and meaningful reductions in infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, infection-related deaths, and costs.

24 Aug 2018

Pediatric antibiotic prescriptions lead to nearly 70,000 ER visits in the U.S. each year

The use of antibiotics drives the development of antibiotic resistance, a major threat to public health worldwide. But these drugs also carry the risk of harm to individual patients, including children.

23 Aug 2018

New vaccine could protect unborn babies from Zika virus

Until recently, the Zika virus was not a priority since it affected relatively few people and the cost of creating a vaccine was estimated at EUR 149-468 million. But the spread of Zika in the Americas and discovery of a link with reduced head size and brain damage in babies of women infected while pregnant changed that.

20 Jul 2018

Mother's diet during pregnancy may impact baby's gut microbiome, shows study

A mother's diet during pregnancy may have an effect on the composition of her baby's gut microbiome - the community of bacteria living in the gut - and the effect may vary by delivery mode, according to study published in the open access journal Microbiome.

5 Jul 2018

Study explores relation between hospital occupancy levels and infection risk

Hospitals today spend a lot of time and effort to protect their patients from developing new infections while they're hospitalized - especially the most dangerous types that can threaten their health even more than the problem that sent them to the hospital in the first place.

2 Jul 2018

Research finds decrease in rate of C. difficile infections in hospitals across Canada

Rates of C. difficile infections have decreased 36% in hospitals across Canada, although the virulent NAP1 strain associated with severe illness and deaths is the most common strain, according to research published in CMAJ.

25 Jun 2018

Safety protocol violations in health care: Researchers explore ways to avoid infection transmission

The medical community is losing its biggest gun in fighting infection, antibiotics. Researchers are turning to safety protocols to reduce the transmission of antibiotic-resistant organisms, like Clostridium difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and influenza. The health care environment, however, may be setting health care workers up for failure.

12 Jun 2018

Faeces donors do it out of willingness not money - study

Healthy adults who have a good constitution and have a healthy heart are being called forth to donate samples of their faeces to science. The donors would be screened rigorously before they can be included and would be compensated modestly for their donations say researchers.

6 Jun 2018

Germ-fighting robot gives boost to hospital's infection control program

A germ-fighting robot that uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light to sanitize rooms at Trinity Hospital is giving a boost to the hospital's infection control program.

5 Jun 2018

Research may pave way for new C. diff antitoxins and anti-cancer drugs

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine and Harvard University have discovered how the Clostridium difficile toxin B recognizes the human Frizzled protein, the receptor it uses to invade intestinal cells and lead to deadly gastrointestinal infections.

14 May 2018

Walnut consumption impacts gut microbiota and offers many health benefits

Diets rich in nuts, such as walnuts, have been shown to play a role in heart health and in reducing colorectal cancer.

4 May 2018

Researchers identify how smaller hospitals can reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics

Researchers at Intermountain Healthcare and University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City have completed a study identifying how community hospitals with fewer than 200 beds can develop antibiotic stewardship programs that work to prevent the growth of antibiotic-resistant organisms, or "superbugs," which are becoming more common and deadly.

30 Apr 2018

Probiotics may be safe, low-cost prevention tool for Clostridium difficile infections

Probiotics may be a relatively safe, simple, and low-cost solution for preventing Clostridium difficile infections in hospital settings, according to two studies published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

26 Apr 2018

Contact precautions do not limit spread of drug-resistant bacteria in ICUs

Contact precautions, used in addition to the standard precautions, the basic level of infection control applied to all patients, did not limit or prevent the spread of drug-resistant bacteria in non-intensive care unit hospital wards, according to research presented at the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

23 Apr 2018