November 01, 2013
New research carried out in part by CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan shows the hidden dangers of free-antibiotics programs. According to the study, published online last week in the journal Health Economics, antibiotic prescriptions in areas with free-antibiotics programs are 5% higher. Higher prescribing rates could contribute to the overconsumption of and increased resistance to antimicrobials. [CDDEP]
As the recent Salmonella outbreak continues to infect more people in the US, a new CDDEP graphic visualizes the relationship between the amount of antibiotics sold for use in food animals and the percentage of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella in retail chicken during 2011. [CDDEP]
A CDDEP blog post invites you to participate in two surveys launched by the Antimicrobial Stewardship and Antimicrobial Resistance working groups at the International Society of Chemotherapy. These surveys seek to evaluate how antibiotics are used in the treatment of drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria across the world. [CDDEP]
CDDEP s Resistance Map is cited in a new commentary on how the US is lagging behind Northern Europe in controlling MRSA, published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. [AAC]
A vaccine for C. difficile will be tested on 15,000 patients in its final phase-three trials; earlier trials of this vaccine have shown that it is safe and effective. [Mirror News]
Even as non-communicable diseases become the leading cause of deaths globally, infectious diseases remain a danger particularly as the two types of illness are combining in new ways to present new threats, argues an article in PLoS Blogs. [PLoS Blogs]
A new study published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments describes a novel method of using nanomechanical cantilevers to show how vancomycin, one of the few antibiotics highly effective against MRSA, interacts with bacterial cell walls in real time. [Science Daily]
The effects of climate change on malaria transmission in West Africa will be minimal, according to recent research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. However, rainfall levels are a significant factor in shaping this impact. [MIT On Balance]
With funding from the Gates Foundation, Brazil’s leading public health institution plans to produce the world s cheapest measles and rubella vaccine, hoping to provide developing countries with 30 million doses per year at $0.54 per dose by 2017. [BBC]
In a new study published in PLoS Biology, researchers have identified a way to block egg development in mosquitoes that could help prevent malaria transmission. [HSPH News]
California is getting stricter about immunization, requiring health practitioners to approve parental decisions to exempt children from vaccinations. [LA Times]
Citing studies that have shown probiotics or strategic combinations of vitamins and minerals to be more effective than antibiotics in promoting growth and preventing diseases in food animals, an article in The Verge writes that they could be used to replace antibiotic use in livestock. [The Verge]
An iOS app named Epocrates Bugs + Drugs, which allows users to see the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their susceptibility information at the level of US zip codes, has been downloaded more than 100,ooo times. [CNET]
