Superbug News and Research

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No wonder Brits worry more about MRSA than waiting lists

Scientists say they believe as many as 53 million people may carry the superbug MRSA.

21 Jun 2006

New antibiotic works against superbugs

A new antibiotic with the ability to fight drug-resistant superbugs has been developed by researchers at drug company Merck's research laboratories in New Jersey.

21 May 2006

New therapy proven to be effective in the treatment of MRS

Cosmetic considerations and a perceived lack of patent opportunities could be stopping the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries from investing in the development of a new therapy proven to be effective in the treatment of MRSA.

6 Apr 2006

Breakthrough in search for new anti-malarial drugs

Scientists at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia have made a significant discovery in the fight against malaria. Drexel researchers, along with a research group at the University of Washington, have determined a critical molecular structure of the cellular motor that allows the malaria parasite to invade human cells.

4 Apr 2006

Scientists show how MRSA sidesteps hospital protection measures

The MRSA 'superbug' evades many of the measures introduced to combat its spread by infecting a common single-celled organism found almost everywhere in hospital wards, according to new research published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.

1 Mar 2006

Doctors told to loosen up in the interests of hygiene

According to the prestigious British Medical Association (BMA), doctors should abandon wearing ties and traditional white coats to work because they could harbour deadly hospital superbugs.

21 Feb 2006

Copper could help prevent the spread of flu infections

Copper could help prevent the spread of flu infections. Recent research at the University of Southampton shows that the Influenza A virus is virtually eradicated within six hours on copper surfaces.

2 Feb 2006

British Health Secretary lists top hospital losers

As part of the shake up of the National Health Service in Britain the health secretary Patricia Hewitt has named the top worse managers.

26 Jan 2006

Bacteria in soil may show how superbugs develop resistance

According to Canadian researchers bacteria in dirt may be "born" with a resistance to antibiotics, and studying bacteria in the soil may provide key clues to understanding how the superbugs develop resistance to antibiotics.

22 Jan 2006

Hospital "super super bug" stronger than MRSA

According to reports eleven patients at a British hospital have acquired a superbug said to be stronger than MRSA.

11 Dec 2005

Ambulances - weak link in the fight against MRSA

Targets, time and money pressures create a lethal cocktail that could allow superbugs to thrive in our ambulances said UNISON, the UK's largest health union, this week.

6 Sep 2005

Fewer antibiotic prescriptions leads to fewer superbugs

That's the take-home message behind a new study in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. The study found that reducing antibiotic use for pediatric respiratory tract infections resulted in lower rates of carriage of drug-resistant bacteria.

6 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

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

Fear of superbugs bans nurses from wearing their uniform when not on duty

District nurses in the UK, working in the community, have been banned from wearing their uniforms when they are not on duty, amid growing concerns about superbugs.

23 Aug 2005

Human superbug MRSA linked to pets

Scientists in the UK are investigating the possibility that there may be links between the hospital superbug MRSA in pets and humans.

15 Aug 2005

NHS pays damages to woman who contracted MRSA

A National Health hospital in the UK has been forced to pay damages to a patient who contracted the superbug MRSA.

23 Jul 2005

Hospital patients to be checked for MRSA infection before admission

According to a survey of hospital chief executives, released by the NHS Confederation, even though surgery is statistically more risky, patients are now more scared of catching an infection than of going under the knife.

12 Jun 2005

Superbug possibly the same as US killer strain

Microbiologists at the Health Protection Agency suspect that the superbug which has already caused 12 deaths at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Buckinghamshire, may be the same strain that has spread in many American hospitals since 2001, and killed more than 100 patients in Quebec, Canada, last year.

8 Jun 2005