MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) News and Research

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Isolating intensive-care patients infected with MRSA does not reduce cross-infection

Results of a UK study published online suggest that the widely practised approach of isolating intensive-care patients infected with MRSA does not reduce cross-infection. Authors of the study caution that this finding should not be extended to general hospital wards, and needs further confirmation from larger studies.

7 Jan 2005

Essential oils have been found to kill the deadly MRSA bacteria

Essential oils usually used in aromatherapy have been found to kill the deadly MRSA bacteria according to research carried out at The University of Manchester.

From The University of Manchester 21 Dec 2004

Theory that could help to cure diseases including cancer

An Open University science student has astonished the world of medicine with a theory that could help to cure diseases including cancer.

21 Dec 2004

Youki spray halts the spread of superbug MRSA bacterium

In wound care treatment bandages and dressings may become archaic tools of the past. The future is in a spray called Youki that accelerates the healing process.

20 Dec 2004

No complicated formulas: more cleaners = cleaner hospitals

UNISON, the UK’s largest health union, has welcomed new figures showing improvements to standards of hospital cleanliness, but said that for most patients - “seeing is believing”.

8 Dec 2004

Infection rates from MRSA superbug will be halved by 2008, according to Health Secretary John Reid

Blood borne infection rates of the hospital superbug MRSA will be halved by 2008, Health Secretary John Reid said in a speech last week.

8 Nov 2004

Turf burns and body shaving responsible for the spread of a bacterial skin infection among football players

Turf burns and cosmetic body shaving were responsible for the spread of a bacterial skin infection among players on a college football team, according to an article in the November 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

5 Nov 2004

More to MRSA infection than just exposure to antibiotics

Johns Hopkins researchers report potentially life-threatening hospital infections with bacteria resistant to the antibiotic methicillin can occur even if patients havent been treated with that drug.

1 Nov 2004

The attitude towards MRSA in the United Kingdom is a case of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted

Nicholas Akerman's experience of working in Australia was that people are unable to work with patients without being screened and cleared. Yet, having worked in England in medicine for over 12 years, he has never once been screened. "Surely we should at least be adopting this policy to help combat the problem?" he asks.

21 Oct 2004

Infections among injecting drug users are a growing public health concern in the UK

New figures published by the UK's Health Protection Agency show that infections among injecting drug users (IDUs) are a growing public health concern.

13 Oct 2004

Discovery of compound that renders the MRSA superbug vulnerable to antibiotics

MRSA- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus- is defined by its ability to resist the antibiotic methicillin. Like penicillin, methicillin works by blocking bacterial enzymes called PBPs, which normally strengthen cell walls by forming cross links.

13 Oct 2004

Drug-resistant bacteria increasingly causing infections in healthy people

An emerging form of so-called "flesh-eating bacteria" is caused by a strain that is resistant to standard first-line antibiotics. The same type of bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is causing record numbers of less-serious skin infections in children and also is emerging as a cause of pneumonia, which can be deadly

30 Sep 2004

Pine cones may form a new line of attack against MRSA infection

Pine cones may form a new line of attack against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, the British Pharmaceutical Conference heard this week.

29 Sep 2004

MRSA bugs immunity to hospital disinfectants and antiseptics

Dangerous multi-drug-resistant bacteria are also developing immunity to hospital disinfectants and antiseptics, according to new research presented today at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

8 Sep 2004

Phico Therapeutics secures funding to tackle superbug

Phico Therapeutics Ltd, a Cambridge-based company that has developed a unique anti-bacterial technology to treat the hospital superbug, MRSA, has raised £550,000 with the help of Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network, Europe’s leading technology business angel network.

6 Sep 2004

Evidence that MRSA control policies in hospitals are poor

The researchers stress that, although better studies are urgently needed, isolation measures should continue until further research establishes otherwise.

2 Sep 2004

How to avoid MRSA infection

Staph bacteria are not uncommon in health care settings. In fact, they account for a large number of hospital-related infections each year.

3 Aug 2004

Yeast and tea tree oil kill MRSA superbug

Manchester Metropolitan University is working with a cutting edge technology firm to find a treatment for the hospital superbug MRSA which kills 5,000 patients each year.

23 Jul 2004

Simple infection control measures can eradicate MRSA

Ring fencing of hospital wards and simple infection control measures can eradicate MRSA in patients having planned operations and allow more patients to be treated, show researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Jul 2004

Reports of MRSA have increased by 3.6% in England over the last year

The results from the third year of the mandatory surveillance scheme for Staphylococcus aureus show the number of blood-stream infections caused by both sensitive strains, and also strains resistant to methicillin (MRSA) broken down by regions and also by each acute NHS Trust.

15 Jul 2004