Launch Of European Campaign To Reduce Unnecessary Use Of Antibiotics And Fight Resistant BacteriaOn the occasion of the first European Antibiotic Awareness Day 18 November 2008, new European wide surveillance data show that the emergence of bacteria resistant to antibiotic treatments is increasing, while control programmes in a number of countries are producing results. The pace at which antibiotics are losing their effectiveness against bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacterium often causing urinary tract infections, is alarming.
New Antibiotic Against Serious Infections Receives First Approval In EuropeSwissmedic, the Swiss agency for therapeutic products, has approved ZEVTERA™ (ceftobiprole medocaril) for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections, including diabetic foot infections which have not spread to the bone. Ceftobiprole is licensed from and co-developed with Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. Janssen-Cilag will market ceftobiprole in Switzerland under the trade name ZEVTERA™.
Spread Of US 'Super Bugs' To South AmericaTwo clones of highly antibiotic-resistant organism strains, which previously had only been identified in the United States, are now causing serious sickness and death in several Colombian cities including the capital Bogotá, say researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. The study, done in collaboration with Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá, is presented in a research letter published in the Nov. 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. U.S.
C Difficile Catching Up With MRSA Clostridium difficile, a life-threatening bacterium that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal problems, is closing in on MRSA as the most prevalent and troublesome hospital-acquired superbug in the US; it is rapidly developing an antibiotic resistant form and a new survey suggests it is infecting between 6 and 20 times more patients than previously thought.
Antibiotic Use Increases At Academic Medical CentersAntibacterial drug use appears to have increased at academic medical centers between 2002 and 2006, driven primarily by greater use of broad-spectrum agents and the antibiotic vancomycin, according to a report in the Nov. 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Using antibacterial drugs increases the risk that pathogens will become resistant to their effects, according to background information in the article.
Overuse Of Antibiotics May Make More Bacteria Drug-resistant Between 2002 and 2006, academic medical centers in the United States increased their use of antibacterial drugs. According to new research published in the November 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a greater use of broad-spectrum agents and the antibiotic vancomycin accounted for much of this increase.
HIV Replication Inhibited By Herpes Drug, But With A PriceThe anti-herpes drug acyclovir can also directly slow down HIV infection by targeting the reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme, researchers report in this week's JBC. This beneficial effect does pose a risk though, as HIV-infected cells treated with acyclovir promote the emergence of multi-drug resistant HIV variants. HIV and herpes (HSV) are two of the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide, and individuals frequently become co-infected with both.
Praise For Norfolk And Norwich University Hospitals Deep Clean, EnglandA new report on the NHS Deep Clean highlights partnership work undertaken at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as best practice for hospitals nationally. The deep clean process undertaken at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital was highlighted in the Department of Health's " From Deep Clean to Keep Clean, Learning from the Deep Clean Programme" report.
![](\"http://www.igotyourindex.com/igyindex.gif?DOCUMENTNAME=&DOCUMENTLINK=&GOALNAME&=DOCUMENTVALUE&=GROUPNAME\")