The introduction into clinical practice of antibiotics is arguably the most significant medical advance of the 20th century. Together with immunisation and better public sanitation, they’ve had a significant…
If you haven’t heard about the threat “superbugs” (bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics) pose to our health, it’s likely you haven’t been conscious or on the planet for a couple of years. There are…
Bacteria-eating viruses that kill the hospital superbug C. difficile have been isolated by scientists. The use of these kinds of viruses, known as phages, to tackle bacterial infection was employed before…
Infections and deaths caused by superbugs are increasing every year. So the government’s five-year strategy to tackle the problem, if a little tardy, is a welcome step. In January, Chief Medical Officer…
A new antibiotic that is effective at killing anthrax and superbug MRSA bacteria could be a weapon in the fight against antibiotic resistance - and terrorism. Anthracimycin, a chemical compound derived…
The use of silver in medicine is as old as western medicine itself. Hippocrates is known to have used it to treat ulcers and wounds, the Romans almost certainly knew of its healing properties, its use…
Antibiotics have probably saved more lives than any other form of medication. Prior to their development, things that we now consider trivial, such as a prick from a rose bush or a sore throat, could easily…
Vaginal thrush, or “vulvovaginal candidiasis” is a common condition, with around three-quarters of women experiencing an episode in their lifetime. Many readers may be familiar with the unpleasant symptoms…
Experts have warned of the growing risk of travellers to India, China and South East Asia bringing home E.coli infections that are immune to treatment with a normal course of antibiotic tablets. People…
Bacteria are one of the most successful colonisers of the planet. They can be found in almost all environments we know – from the deepest oceans to acid lakes, and inside and on our bodies. And the history…
Antibiotics joined our growing arsenal of weapons in the fight against disease over seventy years ago. Their target – the bacterial infections that putrefied our wounds, filled our lungs with pneumonia…
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming a major problem. Calls to action on increasing rates of resistance have been made by the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC…
Infections, like taxes, are inevitable (to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin). Most are acquired in the community and the dangerous ones are, in the main, very difficult to prevent. But many infections are…
Bacteria resistant to antibiotics are reaching epidemic proportions around the world, particularly in developing countries. In Australia, we’re also seeing increasing numbers of serious infections which…
You’ve got a high fever, severe cough and find it hard to breathe – all symptoms of severe pneumonia. Before antibiotics, you’d likely be dead within ten days. In fact, before we had these amazing drugs…