antibiotic resistance

See the following -

Promising Antibiotic Discovered In Microbial "Dark Matter"

Heidi Ledford | Scientific American | January 7, 2015

Potential drug kills pathogens such as MRSA—and was discovered by mining "unculturable" bacteria...

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Re-Examining The FDA Antibiotics Decision: Banning Growth Promoters Won’t Be Enough

Maryn McKenna | Wired | December 27, 2013

In my first take on the news of the FDA finalizing its request to agriculture to stop using growth-promoter antibiotics, I promised to come back for a more thoughtful reaction. And then this happened, and this happened, and the holidays happened, and, well, it’s been a busy few weeks. Read More »

Report: FDA Documents Show Decade Of Unsuccessful Attempts To Control Farm Antibiotics

Maryn McKenna | Wired | January 28, 2014

A nonprofit group that has been using the courts to pressure the Food and Drug Administration into exerting more control over farm antibiotic overuse has done a deep review of FDA documents prised loose through Freedom of Information Act requests — and concludes that by allowing the drugs to remain on the market as formulated, the agency isn’t meeting its own internal safety standards. Read More »

Scientists Have Figured Out Why Drug-Resistant 'Superbugs' Are So Hard to Kill

David Nield | Science Alert | February 26, 2016

You may have already heard about the growing problem caused by antibiotic resistance - the spread of superbugs that have evolved to become resistant to the antibiotics we usually attack them with. It's an issue that could have very serious implications for global health and disease if it isn't tackled urgently, and now researchers have made an important step in finding a solution. A new study has discovered how these drug-resistant bacterial cells maintain a defensive barrier, and if further research can find a way to bring down these walls - rather than targeting the bacteria directly - the bacteria could be prevented from developing drug resistance in the first place...

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Serious Resistant Infections Increasingly Found In Children

Maryn McKenna | Wired | March 24, 2014

Here’s some disturbing news published late last week in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society by a team of researchers from two Chicago medical institutions plus an expert analyst of antibiotic resistance: Serious drug-resistant infections in children are rising across the United States. [...] Read More »

Simple Ways to Deter Improper Antibiotic Prescribing

Kevin B. O'Reilly | AMA Wire | November 22, 2016

Inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics is a long-standing practice that once seemed benign but whose consequences are coming into sharper focus. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria kill at least 23,000 Americans annually and cause more than 2 million illnesses in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are some good ideas that can help physicians steer their patients away from antibiotics when they will do more harm than good...

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Sneak Peek: What The White House Is Thinking About Antibiotic Resistance

Maryn McKenna | Wired | April 4, 2014

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST for short) is preparing a major report on the problem of antibiotic resistance. The report won’t be published for a few months, but today PCAST held one of its periodic meetings, and aired what it thinks the most important issues are going to be. [...] Read More »

Study Finds That Up To Half Of Antibiotics Fail Due To 'Superbugs'

Rebecca Smith | Business Insider | September 26, 2014

GPs are increasingly handing out antibiotics that turn out to be useless, as up to half of courses of the drugs 'fail' and result in further treatment, a study has found...

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Study: Hospitals Give Patients Antibiotics For No Reason At All

Gabrielle Canon | Mother Jones | October 10, 2014

Some hospital patients are on antibiotics for good reason: They have an infection, or they're at high risk for getting one. But according to a new study, other patients are given antibiotics for no reason whatsoever...

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Superbugs Killing More People than Breast Cancer, Trust Warns

Katie Morley and Madlen Davies | The Telegraph | December 10, 2016

The superbug crisis is killing more patients than breast cancer as the Government is relying on flawed figures which mask the true scale of the problem, health experts have warned. The Department of Health estimates that 5,000 people die each year due to drug resistance, but Dr Ron Daniels, chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, claims the true figure is around 12,000. The number of deaths is rising each year as more bugs that lead to blood poisoning are becoming resistant to antibiotics...

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Superbugs: Resistance Isn't Futile But A New Generation Of Antibiotics Is Needed

Staff Writer | The Guardian | July 2, 2014

Not so super, really, but powerful enough to withstand much of what modern medicine has thrown at [superbugs]. That's why David Cameron is calling for a global response to tackle the problem...

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SuperChefs Against Superbugs

Staff Writer | Pew | October 16, 2013

SuperChefs Against Superbugs is a movement of chefs from across the country who want to stop the overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms. Read More »

The Antibiotic Resistance Coalition (ARC)

Press Release | Antibiotic Resistance Coalition (ARC) | May 22, 2014

Act now, or face catastrophic post-antibiotic era Read More »

The Time to Stop Giving Antibiotics to Cows, Pigs, and Chickens Is Now

Ed Silverman | STAT | December 29, 2015

Antibiotic resistance has been blamed for at least 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths in the US. Researchers are especially concerned about the widespread use of antibiotics in raising cattle, pigs, and other animals for food production. The drugs help the animals bulk up, which boosts their value, but experts warn that they can also promote antibiotic resistance. I’ve asked two guest authors, Josh Bloom and Dr. David Shlaes of the American Council on Science and Health, to share their insights on this issue. They warn that more needs to be done to curb the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals.

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There’s A Major Foodborne Illness Outbreak And The Government’s Shut Down

Maryn McKenna | Wired | October 7, 2013

Late-breaking news, and I’ll update as I find out more: While the government is shut down, with food-safety personnel and disease detectives sent home and forbidden to work, a major foodborne-illness outbreak has begun. Read More »