E. Coli Infections

'Hormone Therapy' for Food Poisoning Bacteria

Pathogenic bacteria in the gut recognize their surroundings by detecting hormone signals from the host, which can prompt them to express lethal toxins. Intercepting these hormonal messages could be a better way to treat serious foodborne infections where antibiotics do more ...More
March 29, 2010
Posted in News
Progress Made with Foodborne Illnesses, but Challenges Still Loom

When it comes to food poisoning, people usually blame the last thing they ate for making them sick. That's a common mistake, says Barbara Mahon, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a former faculty member in the Boston University ...More
March 2, 2010
Posted in News
Researchers Induce a New Transmissible Prion Disease

Researchers at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine have conducted a study on prion disease and found that transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) can be induced without an outside catalyst like a virus. ...More
March 1, 2010
Posted in News
Is Nitric Oxide a Foe or a Friend to Bacteria?

Current research suggests that nitric oxide may play a role in the pathogenesis of neonatal meningitis. The related report by Mittal et al., "Inhibition of inducible nitric oxide controls pathogen load and brain damage by enhancing phagocytosis of Escherichia coli K1 in ...More
February 24, 2010
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization
Protein Found to be Key in Protecting the Gut from Infection

A signaling protein that is key in orchestrating the body’s overall immune response has an important localized role in fighting bacterial infection and inflammation in the intestinal tract, according to a study by UC San Diego School of Medicine investigators, ...More
February 17, 2010
Posted in News
Retail Meat Linked to UTIs

Chicken sold in supermarkets, restaurants and other outlets may place young women at risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs), McGill researcher Amee Manges has discovered. Samples taken in the Montreal area between 2005 and 2007, in collaboration with the Public Health ...More
January 20, 2010
Posted in News
Paradigm-Changing Mechanism is Revealed for the Control of Gene Expression in Bacteria

A new study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center is shedding new light on the action of Rho, a key regulatory protein in E. coli and many other bacteria. The study, published in the Jan. 14, 2010 issue of Nature, reveals a new paradigm to understand the ...More
January 14, 2010
Posted in News
Foodborne Illness: An Acute and Long-Term Health Challenge

The Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention (CFI) has released a report that documents what is currently known about the long-term health outcomes associated with several foodborne illnesses. The report also discusses how under-reporting, inadequate follow-up ...More
November 16, 2009
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization
Sugars Give E. coli a Survival Advantage

Scientists at the University of York have discovered how certain bacteria such as Escherichia coli have evolved to capture rare sugars from their environment giving them an evolutionary advantage in naturally competitive environments like the human gut.Microbes are ...More
November 12, 2009
Posted in News
Control and Prevention of MDROs

While multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), Clostridium difficile (C. diff) and certain Gram-negative bacilli (GNB ) continue to alarm the general public and are frequently ...More
October 15, 2009
Posted in Articles