June 07, 2013
A roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
An article in Livemint on drug resistance quotes CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan as saying, The MDR-TB problem in India cannot be ignored unless we are prepared for an even bigger problem down the road.” [Livemint]
Research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine finds that women are significantly less likely than men to contract bloodstream infections and surgical-site infections. [LiveScience]
An article in The American argues that innovation and supply-side solutions are key to combat antibiotic resistance. [The American]
The Washingtonian takes an in-depth look at the CRE outbreak that shook NIH, and the extensive efforts that were made to contain it. [Washingtonian]
The New York Times and NPR report on new pathways being developed to speed the development of drugs meant to treat highly resistant infections. [NYT, NPR]
A CNN article discusses the uneasy relationship between intellectual property and global health as incomes and the health needs of developed and developing nations are also increasingly overlapping. [CNN]
New research published in the journal Nature discovers that malaria parasites growing inside red blood cells stick to the sides of blood vessels by using a large family of parasite proteins known as PfEMP1 and avoid their destruction. [University of Copenhagen]
An article in BMC Biology discusses the problem of antibiotic resistance and suggests measures to deal with this threat. [BMC Biology]
The price of doxycycline, a drug used to a number of infections, including Lyme disease, has increased dramatically due to a shortage of the drug. [Wired]
A study published in the journal BMC Family Practice finds that more than a third of female patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) were willing to delay antibiotic treatment when asked by their general practitioners and that more than 70% of those delaying treatment reported improved symptoms after a week. [BMC series blog]
At the 66th World Health Assembly held 20-28 May in Geneva, Switzerland, delegates from WHO member countries raised concerns about the threats posed by antibiotic resistance to global health. [ReAct]
Two new studies (here and here) published in the journal PLoS One show that the gut microbiota may play an important role in response to vaccines and susceptibility to enteric pathogens, or bacteria that affect the intestinal tract. [Medical Xpress]
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently filed a lawsuit against the FDA for not providing data on antibiotic-resistant bacteria on meat and how antibiotics are used on livestock and poultry despite repeated requests. [NRDC Blog]
NPR documents the troubles faced by two families, one in Boston and the other in Moldova, infected with tuberculosis. [NPR, NPR]
Image via Zoriah/Flickr
