Poop Bacteria In Most Public Swimming Pools, USA
Fri, 17 May 2013 06:00:00 PDT
E. coli bacteria are present in over half of all public swimming pools, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. E. coli (Escherichia coli), a fecal indicator was found in 58% of pool samples, the CDC informed...
Infection And Sepsis-Related Mortality Hotspots Identified Across The US
Fri, 17 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT
In the past, researchers have sought to determine the geographic distribution of many life-threatening conditions, including stroke and cardiac arrest. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have created the first U.S...
The Role Of Double-Stranded RNA In Antiviral Host Defense Systems
Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
Animals, insects, and plants use a variety of sensing mechanisms to detect invading pathogens such as viruses. One complex and effective antiviral defense system they share is based on recognition of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), often produced when a virus invades a host cell...
Hospital Stays, Costs, Reduced By Antibiotic Stewardship Program Using Mass Spec System
Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
A co-author of a groundbreaking study documenting reductions in patient length of stay and overall costs from implementation of an antibiotic stewardship program using Bruker's MALDI Biotyper will share her observations at a Bruker symposium to be held during the upcoming American Society for Microbiology (ASM) General Meeting...
Diabetic Patients At Greater Risk From Superbug
Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
Research by Anglia Ruskin microbiologist shows danger of antibiotic-resistant bacteria New research published this week in the Journal of Medical Microbiology highlights the danger posed to diabetic patients by the deadly superbug Acinetobacter baumannii. It was previously known that people with diabetes were at greater risk of contracting bacterial infections...
Widespread But Neglected Disease Leptospirosis A Significant Health Threat In Africa
Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
The newest public health threat in Africa, scientists have found, is coming from a previously unknown source: the banded mongoose. Leptospirosis, the disease is called. And the banded mongoose carries it. Leptospirosis is the world's most common illness transmitted to humans by animals. It's a two-phase disease that begins with flu-like symptoms...
Huge Number Of Infections Prevented In Intensive Care Units
Wed, 15 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT
New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as many as 200,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) have been prevented among patients in intensive care units (ICUs) since 1990...
Phase III Clinical Trial Results For Rotavirus Vaccine Developed In India
Wed, 15 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT
The Government of India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Bharat Biotech announced positive results from a Phase III clinical trial of a rotavirus vaccine developed and manufactured in India. Data from the trial, presented at the International Symposium on Rotavirus Vaccines for India -The Evidence and the Promise, showed ROTAVAC® to have an excellent safety and efficacy profile...
New HPA Guidance Includes DIFICLIR™ (fidaxomicin) To Curb Clostridium Difficile infection
Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
New antibiotic treatment recommended for all recurrent cases of potentially fatal hospital-acquired infection The Department of Health (DH) and Health Protection Agency (HPA) (Public Health England) have issued new best practice guidance recommending fidaxomicin, a first-in-class antibiotic for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) for the treatment of CDI in adults with CDI r...
Novel Coronavirus Might Spread Between Humans, Says World Health Organization
Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
The Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) is emerging as a major challenge for countries across the world and experts from the various governments that have been affected are desperately looking for some form of guidance. A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that the virus may be able to spread by human-to-human contact...
Gut Bug May Prevent Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes
Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
A Belgian-led study published in PNAS this week suggests Akkermansia muciniphila, an intestinal microbe that is important for maintaining the gut lining and how food is absorbed, could be used to prevent obesity and associated metabolic disorders, such as those that lead to type 2 diabetes. Our digestive tract is home to a vast and varied population of microbes...
Potential Lyme Disease Vaccine Shows Promise
Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 PDT
A vaccine for Lyme disease may be on its way, following a promising phase 1/2 clinical trial from investigators at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine and Brookhaven National Laboratory...
A New Vaccine To Protect Against Multiple Strains of H7N9 Bird Flu Virus
Mon, 13 May 2013 11:00:00 PDT
A vaccine that provides wider protection against multiple strains of the bird flu virus, H7N9, is currently being worked on as the outbreak in China continues to get worse. In a news conference held by the World Health Organization (WHO), they cautioned the public that the H7N9 virus, which is responsible for the present outbreak, is one of the most fatal seen in the latest years...
The Interaction Of Social Amoeba And Bacteria Defined By Genes
Mon, 13 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT
Amoeba eat bacteria and other human pathogens, engulfing and destroying them - or being destroyed by them, but how these single-cell organisms distinguish and respond successfully to different bacterial classes has been largely unexplained...
A Strain Of The Bacteria Wolbachia May Stop Malaria
Mon, 13 May 2013 01:00:00 PDT
Mosquitoes are deadly efficient disease transmitters. Research conducted at Michigan State University, however, demonstrates that they also can be equally adept in curing diseases such as malaria. A study in the current issue of Science shows that the transmission of malaria via mosquitoes to humans can be interrupted by using a strain of the bacteria Wolbachia in the insects...