May 23, 2014
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have identified a molecule that prevents bacteria from forming into biofilms, which are a common cause of infections. The molecule, a peptide called 1018 that consists of 12 amino acids, destroys biofilms and keeps them from forming. 1018 is effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as a number of drug-resistant pathogens. [UBC]
Videos of the latest Richard & Hinda Rosenthal Symposium at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) are now available. The theme of this year’s symposium was “Antimicrobial Resistance: A Problem Without Borders”. Introductory remarks were made by IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg and featured speakers included: Rima Khabbaz, MD, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases and Director, Office of Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Stuart Levy, MD, Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology & Microbiology and of Medicine, Director of the Center for Adaptation Genetics & Drug Resistance, Tufts University School of Medicine and President of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics; Margaret Riley, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst; and Brad Spellberg, MD, Associate Medical Director for Inpatient Services, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute. [Institute of Medicine]
Nearly 70 percent of deaths in India take place in the absence of medical supervision. The Million Death Study, led by University of Toronto Professor Prabhat Jha, is seeking to find the cause of a million premature deaths that occurred in India between 2001 and 2014 with the hope of identifying the major likely preventable causes of premature death in the country. [New York Times]
Results of a study published in the latest issue of Science reveal the potential for a new type of malaria vaccine. A team of researchers from Rhode Island Hospital and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases examined blood samples from children who had been infected by malaria, searching for differences between samples from children who had become seriously ill from the disease and those who had not. They found that a certain parasite protein is responsible for allowing the disease to escape red blood cells and spread to the rest of the body. Certain antibodies that attack this protein were responsible for preventing infected children from becoming seriously ill, the researchers reported something that gives hope for the creation of a new vaccine using a similar technique. “We’re finding the rare needle in a haystack,” Jonathan Kurtis, one of the study s authors, told NPR. “We’re finding the rare parasite protein that generates a protective immune response.” [NPR]
The Every Newborn Series, a collection of five papers from The Lancet, discusses the continued slow progress in raising newborn survival rates worldwide. The series advocates the development of better facility-based care around the time of birth, when the most complications in an infant’s life are likely to occur and when the most lives can be saved. [The Lancet, Voice of America]
In a keynote address to the World Health Assembly, Melinda Gates this week urged delegates to support the WHO s Every Newborn action plan, the first global plan to end newborn deaths. [Voice of America]
A Nature article highlights the need for an intergovernmental panel to tackle antimicrobial resistance. [Nature]
National Geographic discusses the many barriers economic and otherwise to developing a MERS vaccine. [National Geographic]
In a court proceeding in Denmark this week, a microbiologist revealed that three people in the country had died from infections caused by ST398, a strain of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus known as “Pig MRSA” due to its initial emergence among pig farmers. This reinforces the concern that bacterial resistance caused by the overuse of antibiotics on farms can have negative effects on the general community. [WIRED]
Budget cuts in the UK could put the current systems that monitor antibiotic resistance among farm animals at risk. [The Guardian]
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Image via Carol Schaffer/Flickr.
