July 04, 2014
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron called for a coordinated global response to counter the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, saying that the world will be cast back into the dark ages of medicine if we fail to take action against antibiotic resistance. He also announced the formation of an expert panel to review the threat of antibiotic resistance and find ways to encourage the development of new antibiotics. [BBC, BMJ]
Ministers and officials of health and agriculture issued a joint statement supporting the development of a global action plan on antimicrobial resistance. [WHO]
The British public voted antibiotic resistance to be the most important challenge to solve, making it the recipient of the UK government s Longitude Prize. [The Scientist]
In its first progress report since introducing Guidance #213 to phase out the use of medically-important antibiotics in food animals, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that it has secured the agreement of all 26 pharmaceutical companies affected by the guidelines and that 31 drug products of the 283 listed have been completely withdrawn from the market. [FDA Voice]
The American Medical Association (AMA) has called for federal action to ban the use of antibiotics in food animals in order to combat the threat of antibiotic resistance. [Food Safety News]
Resistance to artemisinin may have spread to Africa and could have devastating consequences, according to researchers reporting the first case of artemisinin resistance in Angola. [New Scientist]
The 2012 NARMS Annual Human Isolate Report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that while multidrug-resistant Salmonella decreased during the past ten years, resistance to quinolones increased to 68% in 2012 in Salmonella typhi, a pathogen that causes typhoid. Interactive graphs from this report are available here. [Food Safety Magazine]
A new enzyme-based, inexpensive and portable diagnosis system could drastically reduce the time taken to detect tuberculosis – from weeks or months to less than half an hour. Results of this research have been published in the journal Angewandte Chemie. [Nature News]
Rising vaccine costs in the US are making it more difficult for doctors to maintain supplies and for patients to access the free childhood immunizations mandated by the Affordable Care Act. [New York Times]
An editorial in the journal SOJ Microbiology & Infectious Diseases outlined recent research on overcoming the threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [Digital Journal]
A new study published in the journal PNAS suggests that the malaria parasite changes the scent of its hosts, making them more attractive to mosquitoes. [LA Times]
In order to effectively combat emerging infectious diseases, it is important to shift the focus from taking action only after detection to preventing occurrence. [BMJ]
California has recently faced four public health threats: outbreaks of flu, whooping cough, and measles, and a localized outbreak of TB in Sacramento. [Washington Post]
Image via Gates Foundation/Flickr.
