Superbugs

Two Studies Document Rise of Superbugs in the Environment

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs. The rates of drug-resistant bacteria infecting patients in the community and in the hospital have been increasing steadily in recent years, according to two new studies in the June, 2005 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Drug ...More
May 9, 2005
Posted in News
Infectious Diseases Experts Back Bill to Fight Bad Bugs

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Infectious diseases experts are applauding the introduction of the "Project Bioshield II Act of 2005," a bill that is designed to better protect the nation against the growing threats of antibiotic-resistant infections and pandemic influenza, as well as ...More
April 29, 2005
Posted in News
New Drugs for Bad Bugs: Approach Could Bolster Antibiotic Arsenal

Call it a chemical crystal ball. A new approach to predict whether a drug in development is likely to work and which dose is best could get antibiotics to market faster and more cheaply, say University of Florida (UF) researchers. In recent years, scientists worldwide have ...More
March 4, 2005
Posted in News
Bacteria Collection Sheds Light on Urinary Tract Infections

Food of animal origin, contaminated with E.coli, can lead to urinary tract infections in women, according to a team of bacteriologists. "We found out that UTIs may be caused by ingesting food contaminated with E. coli," said Dr. Chobi DebRoy, director of Penn State's ...More
February 22, 2005
Posted in News
Affinium Launches the Development of a New Class of Antibiotics for Superbugs

TORONTO -- Affinium Pharmaceuticals announced that it has selected a drug candidate for development of a novel MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) antibiotic to be used in hospital and community settings. The candidate is one of multiple compounds from ...More
February 17, 2005
Posted in News
Urinary Tract Infections Likely Caused by Tainted Food

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A multi-state outbreak of urinary tract infections caused by drug-resistant Escherichia coli was probably due to consumption of a contaminated food product of animal origin, such as meat or milk, according to an article in the Jan. 15, 2005 issue of ...More
January 3, 2005
Posted in News
"Bad Bugs" Causing Respiratory Infections are Increasingly Resistant to Antibiotics

Between 1995 and 2003, the major “bad bugs” causing respiratory infections in hospitals have grown increasingly resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics, according to data from the Antimicrobial Resistance Management (ARM) Program. The sharpest decline was between 1995 ...More
October 25, 2004
Posted in News
IDSA Urges Senate to Spur Anti-Infective Development

Congress should act soon to introduce and enact legislation to spur the development of new medicines and diagnostics to treat infectious diseases, particularly new antibiotics that target drug-resistant infections. That was the key message of the Infectious Diseases Society ...More
October 6, 2004
Posted in News
Infection Control Today - 05/2004: Clean Slate

Clean Slate Keeping Outpatient Departments Safe By Kathy Dix Hospital outpatient departments straddle an uncomfortable position, teetering between inpatient departments and freestanding ambulatory centers. Because they are more “open” to the community, they may find it more ...More
May 1, 2004
Posted in Articles
Scientists Strive to Knock Out Hospital `Superbugs'

Doctors from the University of Edinburgh and local intensive care units have linked to fight an antibiotic-resistant infection which attacks some hospital patients. The scientists aim to find new treatments for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) at a time when bacteria ...More
April 23, 2004
Posted in News