Antibiotics

On September 21, 2016, delegates at the 71st meeting of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly gathered to discuss the shared danger of antimicrobial resistance, signaling the global scale of this urgent public health crisis while pledging to collectively tackle the problem of superbugs.

Health officials around the world agree that our one of the best steps to reducing the problem of antimicrobial resistance is scaling back on unnecessary overprescribing of these medications. As doctors in many countries work to implement these efforts, a new report out of the United Kingdom shows some progress in the fight against drug-resistant “superbugs,” along with plenty of work to still be done.

As so-called “superbug” bacteria continue to develop new ways of resisting antibiotics, scientists are on the search for new and alternative treatments. Promising news from a recent study is now showing that we may be able to battle the most virulent strains of the Clostridium difficile bacteria with a class of drugs already on the market.

Barry Kreiswirth, PhD, founding director, Public Health Research Institute Tuberculosis Center, professor of medicine at Rutgers University, discusses the “ideal” treatment method for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The number of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths caused by Salmonella have been steadily rising each year, and now findings from new report on nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica show that some 20% of blood isolates of the bacteria have antibiotic resistance.

As health experts around the world take on the problem of antimicrobial resistance and overuse of antibiotics in humans as a prime cause, world leaders are reminding us of another contributor to this global health issue: our farming system.

A team of scientists from Rutgers University and Columbia University recently discovered a new strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) believed to be the first in the United States with resistance to two kinds of antibiotics considered to be last resort weapons to prevent dangerous infections.

When the colistin-resistant gene, mcr-1, was first found in China in 2015, health officials around the world knew that the gene would inevitably appear in their countries. It has since been detected in other parts of Asia, Europe, and North America, including Canada, which just released a 2016 report from their Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System.

To find the next great innovation to fight the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, the National Institutes of Health has announced the launch of a new federal prize competition dubbed the Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostic Challenge.

Barry Kreiswirth, PhD, founding director, Public Health Research Institute Tuberculosis Center, professor of medicine at Rutgers University, discusses the alarming rate of which antibiotic-resistant strains and genes are spreading worldwide and our need for new, effective antibiotics to counteract it.

Barry Kreiswirth, PhD, founding director, Public Health Research Institute Tuberculosis Center, professor of medicine at Rutgers University, discusses the implications of the findings of his study.

A recent study has shown that disabling bacterial flagella could prove to be an effective new method by which to fight some bacterial infections.

The CDC recently announced that their investigators have identified a strain of Escherichia coli with the colistin-resistance gene mcr-1 in a Connecticut child, in what is now the fourth patient in the United States to test positive for an isolate with mcr-1.

Barry Kreiswirth, PhD, founding director, Public Health Research Institute Tuberculosis Center, professor of medicine at Rutgers University, discusses challenges associated with the approval of novel antibiotics.

Nearly 900,000 people in the United States get pneumococcal pneumonia each year, resulting in about 400,000 hospitalizations annually.

Kirk Hevener, PharmD, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Idaho State University, College of Pharmacy, discusses the advantages of narrow spectrum antibiotics.

Kirk Hevener, PharmD, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Idaho State University, College of Pharmacy, explains how clinicians can identify pathogenic organisms to determine which narrow spectrum antibiotic to use for treatment.

For the first time, the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System includes whole genome sequencing data of bacteria from individuals with antibiotic-resistant Salmonella infections.

Craig Rubens, MD, PhD, co-founder and executive director of GAPPS at Seattle Children’s Hospital, discusses exciting advancements being made in improving the treatment of pregnant women and babies.

Craig Rubens, MD, PhD, co-founder and executive director of GAPPS at Seattle Children’s Hospital, discusses the need for more research on neonatal infections.

A group of German researchers recently published an investigative study on the source of drug-resistant pathogens in hospitals and treatment centers.

Studies demonstrate the effect of antibiotics on patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome and unique therapeutic challenges.

In the battle against drug-resistant pathogens, genetic research holds promising answers to our toughest threats. A new study shows that the best tool for treating Clostridium difficile infections could be within the genome of the bacteria itself.

Emily Heil, PharmD, BCPS-AQ ID, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, discusses how a new partnership between pharmacists and veterinarians will impact antimicrobial resistance.

New research from the Imperial College of London now offers a promising novel approach in the fight against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and their findings are decidedly salty.