September 06, 2013
A weekly roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
An article in the Scientific American magazine explores why and how antibiotic use in animals began in the US and writes that some researchers had warned as early as 1966 that antibiotic resistance could take humanity “back in the pre-antibiotic Middle Ages.” [Scientific American]
A new systematic review of the costs of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the US published in JAMA Internal Medicine estimates the total annual costs for the five most common HAIs at $9.8 billion, with surgical site infections (SSIs) having the highest total costs. The study concludes, while quality improvement initiatives have decreased HAI incidence and costs, much more remains to be done. As hospitals realize savings from prevention of these complications under payment reforms, they may be more likely to invest in such strategies. [US News]
An increase in the number of reported new malaria cases from 1,228 to 14,021 during the month of August in the southeast region of Chad has prompted an emergency intervention from M decins Sans Fronti res (MSF) to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of non-severe malaria and to improve the management of severe and complicated forms of the disease. [BBC, MSF]
A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine finds that insecticide-treated bed nets used in national malaria control programmes in Africa and South-East Asia might also reduce the transmission of lymphatic filariasis via parasitic worms. [Sci Dev]
By performing cytotoxigenic culture and cytotoxin assays, the two reference methods for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile, on over 12,000 fecal samples from hospital patients, a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases finds that cytoxin assay, which detects the presence of C. difficile toxin in fecal samples, is a more reliable indicator in the diagnosis of C. difficile infections. [Futurity]
Stricter border controls, anti-tampering packaging and certifications, drug detections, streamlined registration processes, and an international treaty against counterfeit drugs could help control the distribution of fake and substandard drugs, according to an article in The Guardian. [The Guardian]
Citing a recent study published in the journal PLoS Biology, an article in The New York Times explores whether humans acquire bacteria before birth and writes that mothers transmitting bacteria to their offspring is the rule rather than the exception in the animal kingdom. [New York Times]
A study published in the journal Tobacco Control surveyed about 2,800 UK adolescents and found that including pictorial images on the back of cigarette packaging improved warning persuasiveness for never and experimental smokers, but had a negligible impact on regular smokers.
The Atlantic writes on the detrimental effects on patient lives as physicians increasingly spend less time with their patients for efficiency and productivity. [The Atlantic]
New research, based on experiments on mice and published in the journal Nature, describes how enteric pathogens such as S. typhimurium and Clostridium difficile benefit after oral antibiotic intake and cause diseases. [Science Daily]
An article in the BBC writes on the possibility of developing new antibiotics by studying the gut of the giant lime green stick insect, which has natural resistance to toxins and infections it could never have encountered before. [BBC]
Want to receive the weekly digest in your inbox? Enter your email address in the “receive updates” box.
Image USDAgov/Flickr
