BiotechMashup

A new, drug-resistant strain of E. coli is causing serious disease, according to a new study. The new strain, ST131, was a major cause of serious antimicrobial-resistant E. coli infections in the United States in 2007, researchers found. This strain has been reported in multiple countries and encountered all over the United States.

(Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) A new position paper from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Infectious Diseases Society of Americaand Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society outlines measures necessary to improve the use and ensure the impact of antibiotics on emerging health-care-associated infections. The paper is being published in the April issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, in a special topic issue focused on antimicrobial stewardship.

(Infectious Diseases Society of America) In a recent study in Clinical Infectious Diseases, investigators describe a 2008 E. coli outbreak associated with consuming raw milk from the same farm, despite the farm's adherence to regulatory standards.

(Infectious Diseases Society of America) Although syphilis is one of the oldest known diseases, most health professionals do not have access to the tests necessary to reliably diagnose it in its earliest and most infectious stage. A recent survey of infectious diseases specialists regarding the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis appears in the Nov. 15, 2009, issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

(Infectious Diseases Society of America) Shortages of key drugs used to fight infections represent a public health emergency and can put patients at risk, according to a review published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. Frequent anti-infective shortages can substantially alter clinical care and may lead to worse outcomes for patients, particularly as the development of new anti-infectives has slowed and the prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogens is increasing.

(Burness Communications) The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA -- an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics -- poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

(Infectious Diseases Society of America) Physicians now have help in their battle against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a potentially deadly infection that initially was limited to hospitals and health care facilities but has become a growing problem in healthy children and adults. The Infectious Diseases Society of America has released its first guidelines for the treatment of increasingly common MRSA infections.

(Infectious Diseases Society of America) As the deaths and suffering caused by antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections continue to rise around the world, the Infectious Diseases Society of America is urging a global commitment to develop 10 new antibiotics by 2020, known as the 10 x 20 initiative, to address this public health crisis and safeguard patients' health.

(Infectious Diseases Society of America) The investigation of a 2009 multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, an important cause of bacterial gastrointestinal illness, led to a new culprit: ready-to-bake commercial prepackaged cookie dough. Published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online, a new report describing the outbreak offers recommendations for prevention, including a stronger message for consumers: don't eat prepackaged cookie dough before it's baked.