September 04, 2012
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
A new book edited by Ramanan Laxminarayan, Director of CDDEP, and Molly Macauley, Vice President for Research at Resources for the Future, surveys state-of-the-art methodology, investigating how information is valued across multiple spectrums. Excerpts from The Value of Information are available online.
The Times of India cites CDDEP research in a news article about an upcoming ban on 92 over-the-counter antibiotics in India. [Times of India]
Research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation finds that vitamin B3 boosts the ability of immune cells to kill the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. [BBC]
A New York Times editorial criticizes the lack of oversight of agricultural antibiotic use in the US, citing a dearth of data and fractured regulatory responsibility as hurdles to overcome. [NYT]
An editorial in Al Jazeera warns of the dangers posed by high concentrations of drugs in wastewater for breeding resistant bacteria. [Al Jazeera]
Another article discussing the problems, risks, and solutions to combat antibiotic overuse and drug resistance in pathogens is published in the magazine Redbook. [Redbook]
According to a new study published in the journal Science, antibiotic resistance genes are swapped between soil bacteria and pathogens that cause diseases in humans. [ScienceMag]
At a meeting of medical societies in India, the lack of political support for well-defined policies for antibiotic use is highlighted as the main problem in controlling antibiotic resistance. [DailyMail]
An article in the Huffington Post details problems associated with medical errors and the promising efforts to eliminate those errors. [HuffPost]
New research based on eight countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, finds an increased prevalence of multi drug-resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. The study also finds that previous treatment with second-line drugs was a strong and consistent factor for resistance to those drugs. [Reuters]
Scientists at the University of Cape Town in South Africa have developed a drug able to cure all strains of malaria with a single oral dose, with animal studies finding the drug to be safe and effective. [Independent Online]
