Beating superbugs with a high-tech cleanser

According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are one of the top three threats to human health. Patients in hospitals are especially at risk, with almost 100,000 deaths due to infection every year in the U.S. alone.

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Promising results in mice on needle-free candidate universal vaccine against various flu viruses

Scientists from the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) have discovered that an antigen common to most influenza viruses, and commonly referred to as matrix protein 2 (M2), when administered under the tongue could protect mice against experimental infection caused by various influenza viruses, including the highly pathogenic avian H5 virus and the pandemic H1 (”swine flu”) virus.

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Plasma-based treatment goes viral

Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combatted in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the replication of adenoviruses.

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Preserving lifesaving antibiotics today and for the future

With antibiotic-resistant infections increasingly common, and a dangerous lack of new infection fighters in the drug development pipeline, it’s more important than ever to use existing antibiotics appropriately. This week, infectious disease experts are helping to educate consumers, health care providers, and policymakers about when antibiotics can help, when misuse of these lifesaving drugs can do more harm than good, and the tremendous need for new antibiotics to protect patients.

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New study finds that even the cleanest wastewater contributes to more ’super bacteria’

A new University of Minnesota study reveals that the release of treated municipal wastewater – even wastewater treated by the highest-quality treatment technology – can have a significant effect on the quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often referred to as “superbacteria,” in surface waters.

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Bacterial genes tell the tale of an outbreak’s evolution

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston have retraced the evolution of an unusual bacterial infection as it spread among cystic fibrosis patients by sequencing scores of samples collected during the outbreak, since contained. A significant achievement in genetic pathology, the work also suggests a new way to recognize adaptive mutations—to see evolution as it happens—and sheds new light on how our bodies resist infection.

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Researchers closer to the super bug puzzle

Infectious diseases specialists from Austin Health are working closely with Microbiologists from the University of Melbourne to understand how Staph is becoming resistant to all antibiotic therapies.

The treatment of serious infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) is complicated by the development of antibiotic resistance. Seriously ill patients, vulnerable to infections can be at additional risk if antimicrobial agents become less effective in fighting infections.

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Why is the measles virus so contagious?

An international collaboration involving Inserm has revealed how the measles virus leaves the body of an infected person to contaminate another individual. The researchers have identified a key receptor, located in the trachea, which allows the virus to spread through the air rapidly from one organism to another. The receptor, nectine-4, is also known to be a biomarker for some cancers.

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Acinetobacter baumannii found growing in nearly half of infected patient rooms

Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) was found in the environment of 48 percent of the rooms of patients colonized or infected with the pathogen, according to a new study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

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Fighting fire with fire: ‘Vampire’ bacteria has potential as living antibiotic

A vampire-like bacteria that leeches onto specific other bacteria – including certain human pathogens – has the potential to serve as a living antibiotic for a range of infectious diseases, a new study indicates.

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