Staphylococcus Aureus

Rising Number of Severe Bone Infections, Health Complications in Children Linked to MRSA

Drs. Octavio Ramilo and Asuncion Mejias have shown that the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has led to more complications and longer hospital stays for children with acute bone infections. Photo courtesy of UT Southwestern Medical ...More
June 30, 2008
Posted in News
Athletes Susceptible to Antibiotic-Resistant Staph Infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly referred to as MRSA, is a type of staph that causes infections resistant to a class of common antibiotics that includes methicillin, penicillin, amoxicillin and oxacillin. While MRSA infections were traditionally ...More
June 24, 2008
Posted in News
What You Really Need to Know About Surface Disinfectant Efficacy Claims

Infection prevention and control professionals play a key role in the selection of surface disinfectants. In today’s healthcare environment, it is critical that disinfectants be selected based on their ability to be effective against the pathogenic microorganisms that ...More
May 19, 2008
Posted in Articles, Disinfection & Sterilization, PPE & Standard Precautions
Turning on Cell-to-Cell Communication Wipes Out Staph Biofilms

Established staph biofilm (left). Two days after addition of AIP more than 90 percent of biofilm has detached (right). Illustration by Alexander Horswill, University of Iowa University of Iowa researchers have succeeded in wiping out established biofilms of ...More
May 1, 2008
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization
BD GeneOhm MRSA Assay Part of Largest U.S. Study Using Universal Active Surveillance to Significantly Reduce MRSA Infection Rates

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. – BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced that a new study, "Universal Surveillance for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 3 Affiliated Hospitals," published in Annals of Internal Medicine, ...More
March 18, 2008
Posted in News
Survey Says 26 Percent of Moms are Concerned About Their Child's Exposure to Germs During Sports

NORCROSS, Ga. -- A recent survey of mothers of school-age athletes in the U.S. showed that only 26 percent were concerned about their child being exposed to germs during sports. Yet community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), a type of staph ...More
March 11, 2008
Posted in News, Hand Hygiene
Bacteria Beware: MIT Student Invents Knock-out Punch for Antibiotic Resistance

MIT graduate student and synthetic biologist Timothy Lu has won the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventing processes to combat bacterial infections by enhancing the effectiveness of antibiotics. MIT graduate student and synthetic biologist Timothy Lu is passionate ...More
March 7, 2008
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization
Hospital Testing for Drug-Resistant Infections Dramatically Lowers Mortality Rates and Costs

WASHINGTON -- Testing hospitalized patients for drug-resistant infections can reduce mortality, decrease length of stay and reduce cost of care, according to a new report released today by AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association. The report describes how ...More
March 5, 2008
Posted in News
Immune System Protein Starves Staph Bacteria

One of the ways we defend ourselves against bacterial foes is to “hide” their food, particularly the metals they crave. A multi-disciplinary team led by Vanderbilt University investigators has now discovered that a protein inside certain immune system cells blocks the ...More
February 19, 2008
Posted in News
Bacterial Toxin Closes Gate on Immune Response

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that a bacterial toxin from the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus shuts down the control mechanism of the tunnel, called an ion channel, in immune cell membranes. Shutting down ion ...More
February 13, 2008
Posted in News