May 16, 2014
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
Dr. Sumanth Gandra, a post-doctoral fellow at CDDEP, participated in a panel discussion hosted by China Radio International (CRI) on the global threat of antibiotic resistance and the magnitude of the threat in China. [CRI]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the European Commission have published the first progress report of the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR), which was created in 2009 in order to improve cooperation to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance.
Several organizations, including the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), have published updated guidelines in the journal Hospital Care and Epidemiology that provide a framework for the prevention of surgical site infections and drug-resistant C. difficile infections and help reduce costs. [Healio, Healio]
A measles outbreak in Ohio this week affected 68 people, adding to the 18-year high in measles cases that the U.S. has experienced so far in 2014. Health professionals had previously considered the disease to be effectively eliminated in the U.S. since 2000. [CNN]
The CDC confirmed the second case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the U.S. this week. The case was discovered in a hospital in Orlando, FL, in a patient who was visiting the U.S. from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The WHO this week said the global spread of the potentially deadly disease has become more serious. [Washington Post, CNN]
Malaria patients may have many different malaria parasites coursing through their bodies at the same time, making the disease difficult to treat. Taking this into account, a study published in the journal Genome Research discusses the use of single-cell genome sequencing to better understand the parasites in individual cases. [NPR]
Researchers report in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution their application of criminal profiling techniques to target the control of infectious diseases, including malaria. In the study, the original model was adapted to locate breeding sites of mosquitoes transmitting malaria by using the addresses of patients with malaria. [MedicalXpress]
According to Wired Superbug, three Danish citizens who had no known connection to farming died of MRSA infections caused by ST398, the livestock-associated strain of drug-resistant staph that first appeared among pig farmers in the Netherlands in 2004 and has since moved through Europe, Canada and the United States. [Superbug]
An unprecedented virotherapy trial by the Mayo Clinic has shown success in treating cancer by injecting 100 billion units of the measles virus equal to the amount in 10 million measles vaccines into a patient with myeloma, a blood cancer that affects bone marrow. [Washington Post]
Cotton fabrics impregnated with a silver solution can kill off bacteria in about 10 minutes a discovery that could be applied to garb and bedlinens used by patients and doctors in health care institutions to help combat hospital-acquired infections. [Fast CoExist]
U.S. health officials on Wednesday recommended that members of at-risk populations begin taking Truvada, a daily pill shown to prevent HIV infection. This could mean a 50-fold increase in prescriptions for the drug. [New York Times]
When it comes to spreading malaria, humans are as dangerous as mosquitoes something that can be addressed through improved diagnostic techniques and treatments. [The Guardian]
Diseases like lung cancer, liver disease, and heart disease all have “distinct signatures in the breath”, says the Cleveland Clinic’s Raed Dweik. Dweik is advocating the use of breath-testing devices to more cheaply and less invasively detect disease. [The Atlantic]
Resistance the film is set to premiere in New York City on May 21st at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema and will screen in Washington, DC on June 11th. The film seeks to explain the factors contributing to antibiotic resistance with archival material and interviews with experts in the field, including CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan. Further details about attending these and additional screenings will be posted on CDDEP s social media feeds and on our Digest. [Resistance The Film]
This online gallery by Doctors Without Borders gives viewers a glimpse into the lives of Indian patients being treated for drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis. [Doctors Without Borders]
RAM (Rapid Assessment of Malaria), a device developed by MIT students that uses magnets and lasers to detect malaria infection level in one minute with 94 percent accuracy using just a single drop of blood, won the grand prize at MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. [MIT News]
Image via niaid/Flickr.
