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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: superbug

superbug stories: 12 news summaries

 New Superbug Stalks Hospitals 

Thousands killed by drug-resistant pathogen

Nov 18, 08 7:53 AM CST
(Newser) - A deadly new superbug is stalking the world's hospitals, health experts warned today. The pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii is a burgeoning threat and proving extremely difficult to control, with a third of outbreaks resistant to front-line antibiotics, according to a study in the Lancet. Of 24,000 US cases in a... More »

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health • hospitals • patients • superbug • antibiotics • infectious diseases • Acinetobacter

New Superbug Highlights Poor Hospital Hygiene

Deadly C. diff., aided by over-prescription of antibiotics, is on the rise

May 2, 08 5:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - A deadly new superbug—beefed up by the over-prescription of antibiotics and spread by dirty hospitals and nursing homes—is raising concern in the medical community, MSNBC reports. The so-called C. diff is a mutated form of a benign bug typically transmitted in unsanitary medical facilities, especially bathrooms. Cases are... More »

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hospitals • hygiene • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • infection • drug resistant • Clostridium difficile

Doctors Fear Flu-Superbug Combo

Mix kills 2 kids in Boston after taking
22 lives last year

Apr 26, 08 6:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Doctors nationwide took notice yesterday when two Boston kids died of a combined flu and fatal superbug—an increasingly common mix, ABC News reports. The blend of influenza and the staph infection MRSA killed 22 people last year, a huge jump from three cases the year before. Now, doctors fear... More »

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staph infections • superbug • infection • MRSA • flu shot • influenza • flu

Screening
Isn't Slowing Staph: Study

Researchers back more cost-effective, targeted testing to catch superbug

Mar 12, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Widespread screening of hospital patients for the drug-resistant staph bacteria MRSA doesn’t appear to reduce the number of infections, a new study finds. Swiss researchers screened more than 10,000 patients for the superbug when they were admitted to the University of Geneva Hospitals. Another 10,000 weren’t... More »

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JAMA • staph infections • superbug • epidemic • antibiotics • infection • epidemiology • MRSA • drug-resistant bacteria • University of Geneva Hospitals

New E. coli Strains Could Spell Epidemic

Drug-resistant bacteria may rival MRSA threat, researchers warn

Feb 19, 08 12:57 PM CST
(Newser) - New drug-resistant strains of E. coli have doctors worried that the mutant bacteria could become a superbug to rival MRSA, the drug-resistant form of staphylococcus that kills hundreds hospital patients each year, the Daily Telegraph reports. The spread of the new E.coli strains must be carefully tracked to avoid... More »

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food poisoning • E. coli • superbug • epidemic • MRSA • drug-resistant bacteria • stomach bug • urinary tract infection • blood poisoning

Superbug Strikes Gay Men

Resistant new strain of MRSA spreading fast

Jan 15, 08 7:54 AM CST
(Newser) - A new strain of the "flesh-eating" bacteria MRSA is spreading rapidly among gay men in Boston and San Francisco and there are warnings it could extend to a larger population, the New York Times reports. The drug-resistant strain seems to be spreading largely by sexual contact, but it can... More »

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San Francisco • Boston • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • MRSA

Chlamydia Cases Hit Record High

Doctors worry number of  hidden cases
could be much higher

Nov 14, 07 4:22 AM CST
(Newser) - Known cases of chlamydia in the US have topped a million for the first time, with the highest rates among adolescent girls, USA Today reports. Under-reporting of the sexually transmitted disease means the real number could be nearly three times higher. Syphilis and gonorrhea are also on the rise,... More »

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • superbug • syphilis • STD • chlamydia • gonorrhea

Hospitals Ramp Up Screening for Superbug

Four Chicago facilities will test all new patients for the staph infection

Oct 30, 07 6:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - Four hospitals in the Chicago area will start screening all patients for drug-resistant "superbug" bacteria, the Chicago Tribune reports. The intensive screening is known as "search and destroy" in Europe, but it is uncommon in the US. The moves comes as hospitals around the nation evaluate safety procedures... More »

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bacteria • staph infections • superbug • drug resistant

Superbug Shuts Down Entire School District

23 schools disinfected after single case of drug-resistant staph

Oct 28, 07 6:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - A single confirmed infection of antibiotic-resistant staph has convinced officials to shut down all 23 schools of an eastern Kentucky district so cleaners can scour classrooms, cafeterias, locker rooms, buses and playgrounds. The district superintendent called the massive disinfection a "preventive measure" to ward off a large-scale outbreak of... More »

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high school • New York City • Kentucky • public health • bacteria • staph infections • superbug • Virginia • outbreak • teenager

Drug-Proof Superbug
Turns Deadly

Antibiotic-resistant staph kills more Americans than AIDS

Oct 16, 07 11:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - An antibiotic-resistant strain of staph kills more Americans each year than HIV, accounting for almost 19,000 deaths annually, the first national stats on the superbug reveal. The super-staph is treatable but can quickly lead to dangerous "flesh-eating" infections. "We really need to be on guard against these... More »

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medicine • bacteria • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • infection • epidemiology • drug resistant • MRSA

Health Experts Don't Cotton to Dirty Lab Coats

Traditional MD garb now banned in Britain for spreading infection

Sep 17, 07 4:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - British doctors have been ordered to ditch their traditional lab coats because the National Health Service has determined that they're unwittingly spreading the superbug MRSA and other deadly hospital-acquired infections from patient to patient on the coats' cuffs. Doctors will now have to work with bare forearms and are banned... More »

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hospitals • hygiene • superbug • infection • doctor • MRSA • lab coat

Staph Infection Rate Stuns Experts

Eye-opening numbers on antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs' dwarf previous estimates

Jun 25, 07 4:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Over a million hospital patients contract a dangerous, drug-resistant staph infection every year, a rate 10 times more than previously thought. Tens of thousands infected with antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" may die from what officials call one of the nation's most serious public-health threats, today's Chicago Tribune reports. More »

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medicine • bacteria • staph infections • superbug • antibiotics • infection • hospital

12 Stories


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