antibiotic resistance

FDA officials have been clear in stating their belief that antibiotics given to animals before slaughter are linked to growing antibiotic resistance in humans.

FDA limits some antibiotics in livestock Associated Press

CHICAGO (MedPage Today) -- A significant portion of seagull droppings collected from Miami-area beaches contained bacteria with genetic elements associated with extensive antibiotic resistance, researchers said here.

(University of Notre Dame) A new paper by a team of University of Notre Dame researchers describes a unique process that is central to induction of antibiotic resistance in the problematic bacterium methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

(University of Maryland) A new study, led by Dr. Amy R. Sapkota of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, shows that poultry farms that have transitioned from conventional to organic practices and ceased using antibiotics have significantly lower levels of drug-resistant enterococci bacteria.

The findings suggest that removing antibiotic use from large-scale US poultry farms can result in immediate and significant reductions in antibiotic resistance for some bacteria.

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) E. coli bacteria exposed to three common antibiotics were more likely to develop antibiotic resistance following low-level antibiotic exposure than after exposure to high concentrations that would kill the bacteria or inhibit their growth, according to a timely article in Microbial Drug Resistance, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc.

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Bacterial infections really stink. And that could be the key to a fast diagnosis.Researchers have demonstrated a quick, simple method to identify infectious bacteria by smell using a low-cost array of printed pigments as a chemical sensor.

In only a few hours, the array not only confirms the presence of bacteria, but identifies a specific species and strain.

It even can recognize antibiotic resistance -- a key factor in treatment decisions.

(Society for General Microbiology) Manuka honey could be an efficient way to clear chronically infected wounds and could even help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate.

(University of Gothenburg) The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, shows a study made by a research team at the University of Gothenburg in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology.

The results are published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

(MedPage Today) -- A four-drug regimen over 10 days worked as well as the three-drug, seven-day regimen that's the standard ulcer treatment and may help overcome the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, researchers reported.