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NEWS ABOUT: superbug

Cow Superbug Jumping to Humans

Scary new form of MRSA found in dairy herds

(Newser) - A new strain of the drug-resistant "superbug" MRSA has been found in British cows, and it appears to be spreading to people. The strain, identified in cows' milk by researchers studying udder infections, is genetically very different from the dozens of other strains of superbug identified, reports the BBC... More »

Scientists Slay Superbugs... With Light

Wavelengths cause chemical reaction, researchers find

(Newser) - Scientists have shed light on a new way to kill hospital superbugs like MRSA: literally shed light on them. A set of wavelengths called HINS-light acts by stimulating molecules in the bacteria, causing them to create chemicals that kill the germs. In trials, the process appears far more effective than... More »

New Drug-Resistant Superbug Hits 3 States

New gene makes bacteria resistant to virtually all antibiotics

(Newser) - People in three states have fallen prey to a new breed of superbugs, bacteria carrying a gene that makes them impervious to virtually any antibiotic. All three patients had recently received medical treatment in India, where the gene was first discovered, and has become widespread, the AP reports. “It’... More »

New Way to Fight E. Coli: Cockroach Brains

Pests could be valuable new source of antibiotics

(Newser) - Scientists believe they've finally found a use for cockroaches. The brains and nervous systems of cockroaches and locusts hold molecules that can kill off up to 90% of MRSA and E. Coli bacteria without damaging human tissue, Bloomberg reports. Researchers believe the insects could be key to developing next-generation antibiotics... More »

'Miracle' Era of Antibiotics Is Ending

Modern medicine can't fight off superbugs for long

(Newser) - Good news: The superbug MRSA seems to be under control. Bad news: A new one called NDM-1 is on the loose . Get used to it, warns Sarah Boseley in the Guardian . "The era of antibiotics is coming to a close," she writes. These "miracle medicines" can't fight... More »

UK Sees New Superbug, Blames Medical Tourism in India

It's traced to cheap cosmetic surgeries

(Newser) - A new superbug has emerged in UK hospitals, probably brought back to the country by people who traveled to India or Pakistan for cosmetic surgery, the BBC reports. About 50 cases have been cataloged in the UK, but researchers fear the newly christened NDM-1 (named after New Delhi, notes the... More »

New Superbug Stalks Hospitals

Thousands killed by drug-resistant pathogen

(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 »

New Superbug Highlights Poor Hospital Hygiene

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

(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 »

Doctors Fear Flu-Superbug Combo

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

(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 »

Screening Isn't Slowing Staph: Study

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

(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 »

New E. coli Strains Could Spell Epidemic

Drug-resistant bacteria may rival MRSA threat, researchers warn

(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 »

Superbug Strikes Gay Men

Resistant new strain of MRSA spreading fast

(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 »

Chlamydia Cases Hit Record High

Doctors worry number of hidden cases could be much higher

(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, partly... More »

Hospitals Ramp Up Screening for Superbug

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

(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 »

Superbug Shuts Down Entire School District

23 schools disinfected after single case of drug-resistant staph

(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 »

Drug-Proof Superbug Turns Deadly

Antibiotic-resistant staph kills more Americans than AIDS

(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 »

Health Experts Don't Cotton to Dirty Lab Coats

Traditional MD garb now banned in Britain for spreading infection

(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 »

Staph Infection Rate Stuns Experts

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

(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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