Clostridium News and Research

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Soap and warm water best for battling Clostridium difficile

Hospitals world-wide battle nosocomial infections on a daily basis.

21 Sep 2007

Off with the sleeves as battle of the superbug begins

The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, battling to control the spread of superbugs like MRSA, will in future ban the signature long-sleeved white coats, favoured by doctors.

17 Sep 2007

New phages to treat bacterial diseases

Viruses found in the River Cam in Cambridge, famous as a haunt of students in their punts on long, lazy summer days, could become the next generation of antibiotics, according to scientists speaking today (Monday 3 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

3 Sep 2007

The battle against killer superbugs begins in earnest

A new initiative in the battle against hospital infections caused by antibiotic-resistant superbugs will be led by the very doctor who first raised the alarm bells over the deadly germs.

7 Aug 2007

Latest food scare in the U.S. - canned green beans

The latest food scare to hit North America again involves canned food; this time the culprit is green beans.

6 Aug 2007

New treatment to combat bowel infection among the elderly

Scientists at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC), based in University College Cork (UCC) and Teagasc’s Moorepark Food Research Centre, are researching a new treatment to combat the increasing incidences of hospital acquired diarrhoea which has become a major problem in hospitals, nursing homes and facilities for the elderly.

1 Aug 2007

Steam out those superbugs!

According to scientists in Britain the battle against super bugs such as MRSA could be won with steam cleaning.

30 Jul 2007

Latest MRSA bloodstream infections and Clostridium difficile figures

Latest figures for MRSA show there was a 6.4% fall in the number of cases of blood stream infection reported to the Health Protection Agency from January - March 2007.

26 Jul 2007

Botulism in chili sauce latest food scare in U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has warned the public about canned products which may be contaminated with the bacteria that causes botulism.

21 Jul 2007

Colitis caused by Clostridium difficile more common now

The rate of cases of colitis (colon inflammation) caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile more than doubled among patients hospitalized in the United States between 1993 and 2003, and the illness was more severe and associated with an increased mortality rate, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.

17 Jul 2007

Scientists tackle deadly hospital superbugs

It infiltrates hospitals as microscopic spores. Its defences are so strong it can resist most antibiotics. And it kills three times as many people every year as MRSA. But scientists at The University of Nottingham are amassing an arsenal of weapons in preparation for counter offensive against the most deadly of hospital superbugs.

4 Jul 2007

New device rapidly diagnoses gastrointestinal disease by 'reading' the odour of biological fluids

A pioneering new device that could help over four billion adults and children who suffer from infectious diarrhoea in the developing world and reduce outbreaks of diseases such as clostridium difficile (C.Diff) in UK hospital wards is the winner of this year's University of Bristol's New Enterprise Competition.

4 Jul 2007

Yogurt drink helps patients avoid diarrhea caused by antibiotics

According to a new study by British researchers probiotic yogurt drinks containing "good" bacteria help patients avoid the diarrhea caused by antibiotics.

2 Jul 2007

Simple video-based awareness programme could reduce rapidly increasing hospital infection rates

A simple video-based awareness programme significantly improved hand washing among family members visiting sick children in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, according to research in the June issue of the UK-based Journal of Clinical Nursing.

19 Jun 2007

Tool will revolutionise functional genomic studies in clostridia

The genome of the organism that produces the world's most lethal toxin has been revealed.

24 May 2007

Discovery of chemical profiles for infectious diarrhoea

Academics from the Universities of the West of England and Bristol have found that faeces from healthy people and those with infectious diarrhoea differ significantly in their chemical composition and could be used to diagnose quickly diseases such as Clostridium difficile (C. Diff.).

22 May 2007

3M and Gen-Probe collaborate to combat healthcare-associated infections

3M and Gen-Probe have announced that the companies have formed an exclusive worldwide collaboration to develop and commercialize rapid, easy-to-use nucleic acid tests to detect certain dangerous healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

1 May 2007

Quarterly UK Clostridium difficile and MRSA figures

Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency show there were 55,681 cases of Clostridium difficile infection reported in patients aged 65 years and above in England in 2006.

27 Apr 2007

FDA warns on health risks of potentially contaminated Olives

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers to possible serious health risks from eating olives that may be contaminated with a deadly bacterium, Clostridium botulinum . C. botulinum can cause botulism, a potentially fatal illness.

14 Apr 2007

Screening for Clostridium difficile before hospital admission could cut infection rates

Screening people for Clostridium difficile before they are admitted to hospital may be one way to help control rising rates of infection, says a doctor in the British Medical Journal.

7 Apr 2007