Community-Acquired Pneumonia Caused by Staph More Common Than Thought
Community-acquired pneumonia caused by staph bacteria may occur more frequently than previously thought, according to study results released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study gathered data from three pediatric hospitals in the Atlanta area during the 2006-2007 flu season.
The seven month study identified 53 cases of community-acquired pneumonia, or CAP, [...]
Cholesterol Lowering Drug May Render Staph Bacteria Harmless
In their efforts to develop new treatments for drug-resistant staph infections, scientists have obtained positive results using a cholesterol lowering drug that never made it to market. Researchers believe that cholesterol reducing compounds known as squalene synthase inhibitors may work on staph infections, including methicillin resistant staph, by rendering the bacteria vulnerable to the [...]
Researchers Expect Virulent New MRSA Strains to Emerge
Researchers studying community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also called CA-MRSA, have traced its genetic origins to a single bacterial strain, and expect new forms of the extraordinarily resilient bacteria to evolve.
Comparative genome sequencing methods were used by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) scientists to study the evolution of the USA300 group of CA-MRSA [...]
Staph Strain More Virulent Than MRSA Infecting Gay Men
As schools, prisons, and hospitals around the country struggle to prevent the spread of the superbug known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a virulent newer strain is making inroads into gay communities in San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.
More drug-resistant than the MRSA seen in schools and gyms, infections caused by this [...]
Light Therapy Brightens Future of MRSA Treatment
Overuse of antibiotics is contributing to the increased prevalence of drug-resistant superbugs. But what if medical professionals didn’t have to rely on antibiotics to treat virulent bacterial infections?
Light therapy may be the answer.
Current research in the area of photomedicine is poised to have a huge impact on how doctors respond to serious drug-resistant staph [...]
Infection Control Experts Say Hospitals Not Doing Enough to Prevent MRSA
Half of American health care facilities are not doing enough to stop the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a poll of infection control professionals. The online survey conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) revealed that while 59 percent of respondents work at facilities that are [...]
MRSA Related Hospitalizations Surge More Than 100%
Hospitalizations caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are on the rise in the United States, ballooning 62% between 1999 and 2005. During the same period, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, accounted for a 119% jump in hospitalizations, reports a new study in the December 2007 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases published by the Centers for [...]
New Superbug Research Reveals Why Community-Acquired MRSA is So Virulent
Researchers studying the surging epidemic of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) infections in our communities have discovered that the bacteria have developed the ability to eliminate our natural immune system defenses. A peptide secreted by community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) dissolves white blood cells called neutrophils, our primary defense against bacterial infection, according to the study published this [...]
Doctors Seek FDA Approval for Cheaper, More Effective MRSA Meds
Antibiotic-resistant staph infections are notoriously expensive to treat. Tygacil and Zyvox are two drugs that can cost patients upwards of $100 per day. But new studies in the works aim to prove that cheap, generic drugs that have been around for decades are actually more effective in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or [...]
Vaccine Research Yields Promising Results in the Prevention of Lethal Staph Infections
One day soon, antibiotic resistant staph infections might be preventable with a simple vaccine.
Research scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a vaccine that has been successful in blocking the onset of staph infections in laboratory mice. The promising vaccine will make it possible for the body to easily fight off staph by [...]