The rise of superbugs: Facing the antibiotic resistance crisis
June 16, 2022
"While medical research has helped us overcome many health threats, we now face a new type of crisis: Many dangerous bacteria are becoming resistant to the drugs meant to fight them. Where do we go from here? "
The staggering death toll of drug-resistant bacteria
January 31, 2022
"Global survey shows that in 2019, antimicrobial resistance killed more people than HIV/AIDS or malaria. "
6 Superbug Myths: What Really Happens When Germs Defeat Drugs
November 24, 2021
"Antibiotic resistance is a growing health crisis. Do you know the facts?"
Amount of toxin in stool correlates with C. difficile severity, study shows
October 10, 2021
"Using a new highly sensitive assay, researchers demonstrated that the amount of toxin in stool correlates with the severity of Clostridioides difficile infection, with higher concentrations associated with severe disease at diagnosis."
A Medieval Potion Proves Its Worth as an Effective Bacteria Killer
July 31, 2020
"A 1,000-year-old recipe to treat eye infections could lead to an unorthodox way of combating antibiotic resistance."
Recognizing ‘Heteroresistance’ In Bacterial Infections
July 15, 2020
"When samples of bacterial infections are sent to pathology labs for testing, the results are usually reported in one of two ways: The bacterium is susceptible to treatment with major antibiotics or it’s resistant. But there’s a third type of infection that infectious disease clinicians are increasingly seeing as worthy of recognition—heteroresistant. "
Bacteria “Tolerant” of One Antibiotic Are More Likely to Develop Resistance
January 9, 2020
"Even combination therapies do not prevent such pathogens from becoming resistant"
Should Human Feces Be Regulated Like a Drug?
June 24, 2019
"A fecal-transplant patient has unexpectedly died just as the FDA is deciding the future of the unconventional procedure."
What to know about fecal transplants in the wake of the first death
June 18, 2019
"Transplanting feces might sound like a recipe for bacterial infections, but until last week the data suggested it was actually quite safe."
Casey, Isakson Introduce Legislation to Fight Drug-Resistant Infections
June 5, 2019
"U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) introduced legislation this week to help advance research and new treatments for drug-resistant infections. "
New estimates aim to define the true burden of superbug infections
February 11, 2019
"Researchers are trying to establish how many deaths can be attributed to antibiotic resistance."
'Everyone has a role to play' in addressing the STD crisis
February 1, 2019
"According to the CDC, 2.3 million new cases of the three nationally notifiable sexually transmitted diseases - chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis - were reported by Americans in 2017. It was yet another record-breaking year for STDs in the United States, and the epidemic is showing no signs of slowing down."
The Case for Antibiotics
September 19, 2018
"A handful of years ago, a small pharmaceutical company quietly acquired the rights to an old but commonly used antibiotic. Few noticed until last week, when the new owner did something that's recently become common in the world of pharmaceuticals: It abruptly raised the price. A lot."
'Opportunistic greed': ID groups criticize Nostrum for nitrofurantoin price spike
September 14, 2018
"The Infectious Diseases Society of America and HIV Medicine Association strongly criticized Nostrum Laboratories Inc. today for quadrupling the price of the antibiotic nitrofurantoin from approximately $500 to more than $2,300 per bottle, saying it was unethical, irresponsible and unnecessary."
Four months of rifampin as good as nine months of isoniazid for preventing active TB
August 2, 2018
"Four months of treatment with rifampin is no less effective than 9 months of isoniazid therapy for preventing active tuberculosis (TB) in people with a latent infection, according to two new trials - one in adults and one in children."
People Are Contracting Flesh-Eating Bacteria at the Beach
August 1, 2018
"This is how scared you should be."
Could Phage Therapy Fight Superbugs?
June 5, 2018
"Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections pose a grave danger to the health of millions of people every year. Phage therapy may provide a solution."
The crisis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is worsening and we are all at risk
March 13, 2018
"Antibiotic resistance may be the greatest medical challenge of our time. It threatens major advances of modern medicine including organ transplants, cancer chemotherapy, and routine surgical procedures that would not be possible without these life-saving drugs. We are all at risk."
Used Books May Be Germy, But They Won't Make You Sick
February 1, 2018
"Books, despite often being passed from germy hand to germy hand, are safer to handle than you might imagine. "
A new gel could help in the fight against deadly, drug-resistant superbugs
January 10, 2018
"Ointment cleared wounds in mice and human skin samples of MRSA, other tough bacteria."
Antibiotic resistance: An old problem with new ramifications
November 29, 2017
"A post-antibiotic era is hardly an "apocalyptic fantasy," the World Health Organization has said. The idea that key antibiotics could be rendered useless against even minor infections "is instead a very real possibility for the 21st century.""
Emerging infections build One Health urgency
October 9, 2017
"What do a rain forest and a crowded city have in common? More than meets the eye, according to a lecture here Thursday named for leading researcher and epidemiologist Edward H. Kass."
Seeding the Gut Microbiome Prevents Sepsis in Infants
August 16, 2017
"Andi Shane, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Emory University School of Medicine, comments on a Nebraska-led clinical trial in India using a prebiotic and probiotic to help prevent sometimes deadly cases of sepsis and decrease lower respiratory tract infections in newborns. "
"Untreatable" Gonorrhea Is Most Definitely Becoming A Thing
July 7, 2017
"Gonorrhea is getting harder and harder and sometimes even impossible to treat worldwide, according to a World Health Organization study looking at medical surveillance data from 77 countries released on Thursday."
Will a New Drug to Fight Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Really Work?
June 13, 2017
"Scientists have developed an antibiotic in the lab with three ways of killing bacteria. Will it be able to overcome resistant bacteria?"
"Super Bacteria" Were Around Before the Dinosaurs
May 19, 2017
"Scientists are studying these ancient forms of bacteria to better understand how they work and how humans might try to defeat them."
Her Husband Was Dying From A Superbug. She Turned To Sewer Viruses Collected By The Navy.
May 6, 2017
"Scientists have long dismissed "phage therapy" as a fringe idea pushed by eccentrics who enjoy fishing in sewage. But now the Navy is betting on it."
STD epidemic in US carries staggering human, economic costs
April 27, 2017
"With rates of sexually transmitted diseases at an all-time high in the United States, the need for more screening as well as better treatment and prevention methods, especially for those at highest risk, has reached a critical point. Carlos del Rio, MD, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, said the threat of untreatable gonorrhea is now a reality due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant cases. 'STDs are significant. They may not necessarily cause mortality, but they certainly cause morbidity.'"
New Bill Before Congress Aims at Addressing Antibiotic Resistance Problem
April 13, 2017
"Congress will now be addressing the problem of antibiotic resistance with a bill introduced to the US House of Representatives on March 30, 2017 by Congressman Erik Paulsen and Congressman Mike Thompson. Using the Orphan Drug tax credit as a model, the Reinvigorating Antibiotic and Diagnostic Innovation (READI) H.R. Bill 1840 provides tax incentives for pharmaceutical companies to invest in the development of novel antibiotics and rapid diagnostic tests for infections."
Why We're All At Risk When Bacteria Resist
March 28, 2017
"More bacteria are answering the battle cry of "resist!" Bugs that cause common infectious diseases have learned how to stand up to many antibiotic treatments. Offering patients different or stronger drugs doesn't seem to change the risk, so what is the solution to stop so-called "superbugs"? Scientists and doctors are working hard to solve this growing public health problem. But many experts say the fight against antibiotic resistance starts at home."
Study highlights burden of community-onset antimicrobial resistance in India
March 16, 2017
"A large prospective study of adults and children hospitalized with acute febrile illness in India revealed a high incidence of community-onset multidrug-resistant infections, which were associated with prior antibiotic use and increased risk for mortality."
Dr. David Weiss talks about the dangers of a world without antibiotics
March 7, 2017
"Dr. David S. Weiss, director of the Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center, talks about the dangers of a world without antibiotics and the steps being taken by researchers, clinicians and epidemiologists to ensure the future of effective antibiotics."
Exactly how bad is antibiotic resistance right now?
February 3, 2017
"We are starting to see the kind of incurable infection that scientists have warned us about for years. In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a woman in Nevada had died from an infection resistant to every available antibiotic."
Are We Headed Toward a World Without Antibiotics?
January 24, 2017
"The rapid spread of 'nightmare bacteria' has some experts worried that antibiotics may one day become ineffective."
No Antibiotic In The U.S. Could Save This Woman. We Should All Be Worried.
January 13, 2017
"This is one of the first cases of a pan-resistant infection in America."
New antibiotic, found in the nose, could treat deadly infections
July 27, 2016
"The contents of our noses could have antibiotics that can cure skin infections and other diseases. "
The Next Big Threat, Or What Will Kill Us?
July 8, 2016
"How does fear play into our understanding and awareness of CDC research? We take a walk back through moments of collective fear in history from atomic bombs to deadly diseases with Terry Pechacek, a professor of health management and policy at Georgia State University. Plus, we discuss one of the biggest contemporary threats to public health: antibiotic resistance. David Weiss of Emory University's Vaccine Center explains what that is and why it's a top concern for today's health researchers."
21st Century Health Hazards Everyone Should Know About
June 2, 2016
"Rollerblade injuries? So 1990s. These risks are the ones you need to be aware of."
Resistance Fighters
May 13, 2016
"Evolutionary biologists have begun studying the rise of antibiotic resistance, one of the most urgent problems in public health. Their work suggests that old dogmas about the best way to prevent resistance may be wrong. Contrary to what most doctors think, for instance, using high doses of antibiotics may sometimes help spread resistance rather than prevent it. Combining antibiotics could backfire as well, and long treatments may sometimes do more harm than good. However, many researchers and clinicians are skeptical about these new ideas, which are difficult to test in humans because it might involve giving some patients a suboptimal dose of a life-saving drug."
Serious Putty
May 1, 2016
"A naturally occurring clay, used in traditional Native American medicine, shows promise as an antibiotic."
USA needs to take immediate steps to fight super bugs, experts say
August 4, 2015
"The USA could save 37,000 lives over the next five years by taking immediate action to improve the way it fights health care-associated infections, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Let's Ask the Right Questions about Organics and Health
September 26, 2012
"As an environmental health scientist, and as a mother of a toddler with another baby on the way, I closely followed the recent media flurry on the health benefits of organic versus conventional foods following the release of a study by Stanford University scientists earlier this month."