January 04, 2013
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
A Times of India article reports that Intensive Care Units in Indian hospitals can harbor infection rates up to 40% higher than regular wards. The article references CDDEP research on hospital acquired infections in India. [Times of India]
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new tuberculosis drug called Siruto for use with older drugs to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. [USA Today]
In the process of codifying the Food Safety Modernization Act passed by Congress in 2010, the FDA recently proposed two new rules to ensure a modern, science-based approach to the safety of produce and processed foods. [NYTimes]
Using a mouse model, research published in the journal PLoS Pathogens suggests that lovastatin, a commonly used cholesterol-lowering drug, prevents late cognitive problems in children surviving cerebral malaria. [VOA]
An article on Slate examines the problem of misdiagnosis of ear infections in children and the inappropriate prescription of antibiotics for them. [Slate]
Chinese researchers discover that a natural antibiotic produced by giant pandas might enable the development of powerful new drugs to combat resistant bacteria. [The Telegraph]
An NBC news story discusses the growing threat of drug-resistant malaria in northwestern Thailand. [NBC News]
UNICEF Canada s 10 Underreported stories: Saving children s lives report lists stories about public health challenges affecting children that have received scant attention from the Canadian media. [UNICEF Canada]
A study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases finds that hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) room decontamination method is more effective at reducing environmental contamination and the risk of acquiring multidrug-resistant organisms than traditional cleaning strategies. [Johns Hopkins Press Release]
An Associated Press article describes the current status of disease-forecasting using weather-based models. [AP]
Mycobacterium smegmatis, a bacterium similar to the tuberculosis bacterium, develops drug resistance using a previously unknown mechanism, according to research published in the journal Science. [Inside Science]
A systematic review of 61 studies, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, to assess the link between health care cost and quality finds inconsistent results, with the association being small to moderate, regardless of whether the direction is positive or negative. [Reuters]
According to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29 US states and New York City are reporting high levels of influenza-like-illness. [CDC]
Research published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology reports that drug-resistant genes have been detected in microbes from six rivers with significant human interactions in China. [Patent Docs]
An article published in The New England Journal of Medicine discusses the concept of disease eradication, reviews the challenges and benefits of eradicating diseases, and outlines strategies for successful eradication programs.
Image via nathaninsandiego/Flickr
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