Researchers analyzed the combined effects of green tea and antibiotics on 28 different infectious microorganisms, according to a Society for General Microbiology press release. The green tea increased the antibacterial effect of antibiotic medicines in every case said Alexandria University researcher Dr. Mervat Kassem. In addition to improving the efficacy of antibiotics, green tea also seemed to reduce the drug resistance of bacteria.

Some drug-resistant microorganisms even became susceptible to the very antibiotics they evolved to evade. Green tea rendered 20 percent of antibiotic-resistant bacteria susceptible to one of the cephalosporin antibiotics they usually resist.

Dr. Kassem intends to continue researching natural products that may help fight off drug resistant bacterial infections. The next superbug treatment could even be sitting in your pantry or spice rack. His future research will study active compounds in herbs such as thyme and marjoram.

The research on green tea will be presented on Monday, March 31, 2008 at the Society for General Microbiology’s 162nd meeting in Edinburgh in a session entitled Influence of green tea on the antimicrobial activity of some antibiotics against multiresistant clinical isolates.

The research supported by the National Institutes of Health revealed that squalene synthase inhibitors act as a sort of Kryptonite to Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by removing their natural defense: staphyloxanthin, a carotenoid pigment that gives staph a golden hue. S. aureus bacteria that lack that pigment have inhibited ability to fight off the human immune response, resulting in decreased virulence.

In studies, the squalene sythase inhibitor BPH-652 interfered with the enzyme responsible for producing the staphyloxanthin pigment. The resulting colorless staph bacteria were significantly weakened. Lab mice injected with S. aureus bacteria that also received BPH-652 exhibited a 98% reduction in bacterial counts.

Researchers are testing hundreds of additional compounds to determine if any are more effective in stripping staph bacteria of their color and virulence. The research is still in a very early stage – too early for human trials – but pigment reduction appears to be a promising area for further investigation.

The complete study results were reported in the article “A Cholesterol Biosynthesis Inhibitor Blocks Staphylococcus aureus Virulence” published in Science Express, the online edition of Science magazine.

More drug-resistant than the MRSA seen in schools and gyms, infections caused by this type of staph can be very serious, and even lethal when not treated appropriately. Like other staph infections, it spreads through casual contact, including sports and sexual activity. It often presents as an abscess or cellulitis in the buttocks, genitals, or perineum.

Gay male residents of San Francisco were 13 times more likely to have the infection than other residents of the city, according to a study published by the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday. In Boston, up to half of gay men with staph infections are afflicted with the more drug-resistant strain, the study reported. Multidrug-resistant MRSA is also more prevalent in people with HIV.

This new variant of MRSA is so resistant to treatment by antibiotics that precious few options are available to medical practitioners. It is resistant to clindamycin, tetracycline, and mupirocin, as well as methicillin. It also causes more virulent infections that grow and spread rapidly.

The paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicated that multidrug-resistant MRSA likely spread through sexual contact among the infected gay men that were studied. Spread of the multi-resistant staph among gay men was particularly associated with high risk behavior such as drug use and sex with multiple partners.

Researchers expressed a high degree of concern over the potential epidemic once multidrug-resistant MRSA spreads throughout the general population, cautioning that prevention is key. According to medical professionals, the best defenses against all types of staph infections are good hygiene and hand washing practices.

Another concern raised by the study is that multidrug-resistant MRSA may stigmatize gay men in much the same way that HIV/AIDS did in the 1980s. However, this pernicious superbug is not confined to gay males. For example, an 81-year-old woman in New York City was diagnosed with the infection, according to NPR’s All Things Considered program.

The full study, “Emergence of Multidrug-Resistant, Community-Associated, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clone USA300 in Men Who Have Sex with Men,” is currently available on the Annals of Internal Medicine Web site.

The new test, manufactured by BD diagnostics, identified 100 percent of MRSA-positive specimens in clinical trials. In addition, the speedy new test is a significant improvement over other MRSA tests which take more than two days to yield results.

“The BD GeneOhm test is good news for the public health community. Rather than waiting more than two days for test results, health care personnel will be able to identify the source of a staph infection in only two hours, allowing for more effective diagnosis and treatment,” announced Daniel G. Schultz, M.D., director of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

Fast, accurate lab results mean doctors can begin treating infections with the appropriate antibiotic almost immediately. Selection of the proper antibiotic is critical in the treatment of MRSA, and can decrease recovery time and the serious complications sometimes associated with methicillin-resistant infections.

BD Diagnostics is currently developing additional rapid tests to aid in the detection of the healthcare-associated infections vancomycin-resistant enterococci and Clostridium difficile.

Consideration of new reporting requirements began earlier this fall following an outbreak of over twenty MRSA infections in Montgomery County students. While none of those cases were fatal, a Maryland special education teacher died from MRSA-related complications earlier this month.

The Commission is currently seeking to develop a system for collecting and distributing data on healthcare-associated MRSA infections, not the community-acquired strain that has been at the center of media attention in recent weeks. However, the Commission is recommending a statewide public information campaign to underscore the importance of handwashing in preventing the spread of MRSA.

The APIC survey served as an informal six-month follow-up to the organization’s MRSA Prevalence Study released in June. The MRSA Prevalence Study indicated that MRSA was “significantly more widespread” than previously thought, with rates measuring eight times higher than earlier estimates.

The follow-up poll sought to gauge the impact of the MRSA Prevalence Study results on infection control measures in hospital settings. 41 percent of respondents said that their facility had not implemented any new prevention measures since June. Explanations indicated that “many infection prevention programs are still inadequately funded and that facilities lack resources, staff, and buy-in from senior management to prevent the transmission of MRSA, ” according to Kathy L. Warye, Chief Executive Officer of APIC.

APIC provides their membership with guidelines for implementing a MRSA transmission prevention program. Recommended components include risk assessment, surveillance, hand hygiene, contact precautions, proper housekeeping, and testing of new admissions and high risk groups. Controlling MRSA also requires the explicit support of hospital administrators, and a transformation of the facility’s culture, APIC guidelines suggest.