Staphylococcus aureus News and Research

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Staphylococcus aureus is a spherical bacterium (coccus) which on microscopic examination appears in pairs, short chains, or bunched, grape-like clusters. These organisms are Gram-positive. Some strains are capable of producing a highly heat-stable protein toxin that causes illness in humans.

Detecting MRSA outbreaks

German researchers have proposed an automated DNA sequence-based early warning system to detect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outbreaks in hospitals, which they say could replace traditional slower techniques.

10 Jan 2006

MRSA prevalence may be due to over-prescribing and overuse of antibiotics

A dangerous drug-resistant bacterium is becoming more prevalent in many intensive care units, according to an article in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

5 Jan 2006

2 million people carry drug-resistant bacteria in their noses

New research estimates that about 2 million people carry a strain of drug-resistant bacteria in their noses.

21 Dec 2005

Harmless bacteria may provide natural protection against deadly MRSA

Can it be that the stress on the use of antiseptics and antibiotics in hospitals is actually putting patients at a greater risk of suffering fatal bacterial infection?

3 Nov 2005

Fijiian seaweed shows potential to kill cancer cells, bacteria and the HIV virus

Researchers have discovered 10 new molecular structures with pharmaceutical potential in a species of red seaweed that lives in the shallow coral reef along the coastline of Fiji in the south Pacific Ocean.

12 Oct 2005

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals granted Staphylococcus Antigen and Vaccine patent

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,936,258 entitled "Staphylococcus Antigen and Vaccine" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the composition of a strategically important glycoprotein-based antigen (GP-1) associated with three Staphylococcal strains: S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus and S. hominis.

11 Oct 2005

100 year old technology to fight MRSA

A technique that has been around for more than one hundred years is being used in new research as a way of killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using light. The research to be reported today at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester, is being undertaken by researchers from Queen's University Belfast.

28 Sep 2005

Wound dressing to stop antibiotic-resistant bacteria from spreading

University of Florida researchers have led the development of a new type of wound dressing that could keep dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria from spreading in hospitals, a problem that leads to thousands of deaths in the United States each year.

27 Sep 2005

Increasingly virulent Staph infections

In a "Brief Report" in the 22 September 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at the University of Chicago describe three cases of rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal Staphylococcus aureus infections in small children.

26 Sep 2005

One in four cases of hospital MRSA bacteraemia occurs in new arrivals

One in four cases of MRSA blood stream infection in hospital occur in patients who have just arrived from the community. These patients tend to be older and have been in hospital before.

10 Sep 2005

New drug will help fight against superbugs

In the fight against the infections invading hospitals both sides of the globe, scientists have developed a drug that destroys the defences of superbugs, raising hopes it could help quell the rampant and often lethal outbreaks that continue to strike hospitals.

4 Sep 2005

MRSA risk doubled in critically ill patients with glucose in their airways

Critically ill patients with glucose in their airways seem to be at double the risk of picking up serious hospital acquired infections, including MRSA, suggests research in Thorax.

1 Sep 2005

Good old fashioned soap and water the answer for "superbug"

Superbugs are bacteria that have mutated to become resistant to common antibiotics which are no longer any use against them.

30 Aug 2005

Unusual type of antibiotic shows promise in defeating deadly "superbugs"

An unusual type of antibiotic being developed by chemists at Notre Dame University shows promise in defeating deadly "superbugs" - highly drug-resistant staph bacteria that are an increasing source of hospital-based infections.

29 Aug 2005

Study estimates Staphylococcus aureus infections cause 12,000 deaths, cost hospitals $9.5 billion

Staphylococcus aureus infections (S. aureus) create an enormous burden to hospitals by significantly increasing costs, length of patient stays and mortality rates, a Northwestern Memorial Hospital researcher found in the most comprehensive study to date, published today's Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Aug 2005

Infectious diseases pose a serious threat to the nation's public health

Infectious diseases pose a serious threat to the nation's public health. Today, experts addressed key developments to the current and future outlook of infectious diseases, highlighting adolescent immunizations, outbreaks and epidemics of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance and new developments in HIV medicine, at a press conference sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

27 Jul 2005

New way to fight antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus infections

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital and Health Center, San Diego have discovered that "Staph" bacteria use a protective golden armor to ward off the immune system, a finding with the potential to lead to new treatments for serious infections now increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics.

19 Jul 2005

Bling Bling bacteria more dangerous!

Researchers in the U.S. have uncovered the interesting fact that gold-colored bacteria appear to cause more disease than colorless strains.

12 Jul 2005

Molecules that give certain bugs their color also help them resist attack by immune cells called neutrophils

A new study in the July 18 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine shows that gold-colored bacteria are more harmful than their unpigmented relatives.

11 Jul 2005

Endocarditis infection is increasing due to staphylococcal infection

An international study reveals that infective endocarditis, infection and inflammation involving the heart valves is commonly associated with health care factors and is increasingly due to staphylococcal infection, according to a study in the June 22/29 issue of JAMA.

21 Jun 2005