News Articles
Rising Threat of Infections Unfazed by Antibiotics
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think my dad would walk in for a hip replacement and be dead two months later,” said Amy Fix, one of his daughters.
Not until the day Mr. Armbruster died did a laboratory culture identify the organism that had infected him: Acinetobacter baumannii."
Disinfectants could give rise to antibiotic-resistant superbugs
December 30, 2009 Download PDF
London, England (CNN) -- A new study has provided more evidence that using common disinfectants could promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
Antibiotic resistance is considered a major health issue. Overuse of antibiotics is known to give rise to antibiotic resistance, but disinfectants could produce the same effect, according to research by the National University of Ireland, published in the January 2010 issue of the journal "Microbiology."
Deadly Germs Largely Ignored By Drug Firms
“Gram-negative bacteria are practically built to withstand drugs, which is one reason few drug makers have rushed to pursue treatments."
"The difficulty of killing Gram-negative germs is not the only reason for the dearth of new drugs. Another is that many big drug companies have scaled back or abandoned antibiotic development."
HBO: Sticks, Stones, Now Staph
Rotator-cuff tendonitis, shin splints and torn anterior cruciate ligaments are a few of the commonplace disabilities suffered by athletes. Now add methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to the list. Because MRSA, a drug-resistant mutation of ordinary staph infections, has recently afflicted some prominent NFL players, the issue is finally starting to get the attention it deserves. Three years after his January 2006 report, correspondent Frank Deford revisits this dangerous and sometimes deadly problem arising in locker rooms around the country.
MRSA ‘more complex than cleaning’ - 1/14/09
MRSA ‘more complex than cleaning’
“MRSA is a serious problem in the UK - hospital acquired infections (HAI) are a problem in most Western nations. However, the UK media have paid it much more attention. Between 1997-2007, the top six newspapers in the US published 177 articles about MRSA, compared with over 4,300 in the top six UK papers.”
“Research from Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham recently found patients anxious and concerned about contracting MRSA in hospital. Their most frequent source of this information - the media.”
