September 20, 2013
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
On September 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their first comprehensive report on the state of antibiotic resistance in the US. Highlights include the following data points:
Over 2 million Americans are annually infected with bacteria that are resistant to some classes of antibiotics
At least 23,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant infections
These resistant infections also place a $20 billion burden on the US healthcare system, with an additional $35 billion lost in productivity
Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE), C. difficile, and drug-resistant gonorrhea are urgent threats
A report like this was long overdue, commented CDDEP director Ramanan Laxminarayan in a USA TODAY article. The New York Times also covered the CDC release and published a staff editorial on the importance of controlling antimicrobial resistance.
Wired Superbug discusses important messaging in the CDC report about the impact of antibiotic use in agriculture.
A feature in Time titled Google vs. Death explores Google s latest venture into human aging and longevity research. [Time (gated)]
This week, world leaders will meet in New York City at a special session of the United Nations general assembly to discuss accelerating the progress of the Millennium Development Goals, and to begin setting new Sustainable Development Goals.
A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds declining rates of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hospitals, though not in community. A blog post from Controversies in Hospital Infection Prevention summarizes the new data. [JAMA, CHIP]
A new from UNICEF estimates that the lives of 90 million children have been saved over the past two decades thanks to global malaria reduction efforts. In spite of this progress, the report also mentions, at the current rate Millennium Development Goal 4 – to reduce child deaths by two thirds by 2015 – will not be met until 2028. [Malaria Consortium]
New research published in ACS Chemical Biology uncovers a new strategy for killing tuberculosis bacteria by inhibiting the cellular enzyme ClpP, which no drug currently targets.
England s plastic bank notes could be a breeding ground for bacteria, researchers warn.
In the journal RSC Advances, researchers report a cheap and quick method to control mosquitoes by using water soluble carbon nano-particles that prevent the larval growth. [Nature India]
Researchers at Duke University have developed a new test to determine whether an infection is viral or bacterial. [EurekaAlert]
A new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that vaccinating cattle for E coli could reduce infections from the pathogen in humans by up to 85 percent.
A scholarly article published in The Milbank Quarterly examines ways in which hospitals might improve patient safety by taking lessons from other high-risk industries, such as commercial air travel and nuclear power.
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