Infection Control Today Magazine

Flora

Gut-Throat Competition: Surprising Research on Gut Bacteria

From tiny villages in developing nations to suburban kitchens in the United States, dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria sicken millions of people each year – and kill untold numbers of children. Now, new research from the University of Michigan Health System gives ...More
3 weeks ago
Posted in News
Gut Flora Affects Maturation of B Cells in Infants

Infants whose gut is colonized by E. coli bacteria early in life have a higher number of memory B cells in their blood, reveals a study of infants carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The bacteria in our gut outnumber the cells in ...More
3 weeks ago
Posted in News
Antibiotics Have Long-Term Impacts on Gut Flora

Short courses of antibiotics can leave normal gut bacteria harbouring antibiotic resistance genes for up to two years after treatment, say scientists writing in the latest issue of Microbiology. The researchers believe that this reservoir increases the chances of resistance ...More
November 1, 2010
Posted in News
Surface Bacteria Maintain Skin's Healthy Balance

On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents ...More
November 23, 2009
Posted in News
Antibiotics Take Toll on Beneficial Microbes in Gut

In mice, University of Michigan researcher Vincent B. Young found that gut microflora were significantly altered after antibiotics. It’s common knowledge that a protective navy of bacteria normally floats in our intestinal tracts. Antibiotics at least ...More
June 18, 2009
Posted in News
Bacteria Play Role in Preventing Spread of Malaria

Bacteria in the gut of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito inhibit infection of the insect with Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria in humans, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Scientists with the ...More
May 8, 2009
Posted in News