May 24, 2013
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
An article by Michael Pollan in The New York Times Magazine discusses the diversity of the human microbiome and its importance to our health. In a follow-up interview, Pollan stresses the need for more judicious use of antibiotics in health and agriculture. [NYT Magazine]
Research published in the journal Nature Communications describes the mechanism through which high doses of vitamin C produce oxidative radicals that can kill drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in lab cultures. [The Scientist]
According to a study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, all nine New Delhi metallo-?-lactamase (NDM) producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates cultured from eight patients in the US were resistant to ?-lactams, fluoroquinolones, and aminoglycosides. [CDC]
In the sixty-sixth session of the World Health Assembly currently being held in Geneva, UK health leaders have called for international action to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. [Gov.uk]
On BBC s Science in Action podcast, researchers discuss how increasing urbanization has brought about a significant decline in the spread of malaria over the past century. [BBC]
According to a report in Nature News, preliminary results from the Hospital Microbiome Project show that patients bring an influx of new microbes into their treatment area and noticeably change the microbial ecosystem in hospitals. [Nature]
Research published in the journal mBio describes how resistance to colistin in Acinetobacter baumannii also enables the pathogen to become resistant to antimicrobials produced by the human immune system. [mBiosphere]
In a paper recently published in PLoS ONE, authors have identified a family of metal-rich clay that demonstrates antibiotic properties against broad-spectrum bacterial pathogens, including E. coli and MRSA. [POPSCI]
Voice of America writes on two recent discoveries that could help control malaria. [VOA]
According to a study published in the journal PNAS, mucus can provide defense against infections due to the presence of bacteriophage, a type of virus which can infect and kill bacteria. [ScienceNOW]
Image via Fudj/Flickr
