There are many ways to kill microbes that cause dangerous infections. Combining genetic screening with machine learning can help researchers identify new antimicrobials.
Genetic analysis of the bacteria causing surgical site infections revealed that many were already present on the patient’s skin.
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Most infection prevention guidelines center on the hospital environment rather than the patient. But the source of antibiotic-resistant microbes is often from the patient’s own body.
Vaccination is our best tool to limit this whooping cough outbreak.
Bacteria are evolutionarily primed to outpace drug developers.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health/Flickr
Keeping wounds clean and infection free has challenged people for thousands of years.
Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is classified as a priority 1 critical pathogen by the World Health Organization.
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Zosurabalpin is highly effective against dangerous bacterium Crab, which can kill up to 60% of people infected with it.
While antimicrobial resistance is a threat to all humanity, a tale of two worlds emerges, highlighting the heightened vulnerability of low- and middle-income countries.
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The contrasting realities of antimicrobial resistance between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries demands international co-operation to effectively fight superbugs.
Australia is one of the highest users of antibiotics in the developed world. So when do we actually need antibiotics to treat an infection? And when should we avoid them?
We’ve all heard of antibiotic resistance. The same thing is happening with other causes of infections in humans: fungi, viruses and parasites. This is making thrush and other infections hard to treat.
Developing new antibiotics is important in the fight against antibiotic resistance. But we also need to use the antibiotics we already have much more wisely – GPs play a major role in this.
Testing for antimicrobial resistance in the lab.
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From the frontline battle against antibiotic resistance in Nigeria, to the techniques being used to find new antibiotics. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
Up to 20% of Australians admitted in hospital say they have a penicillin allergy. But not everyone who thinks they’re allergic to penicillin actually is.
Antibiotics have been around for less than a century. But as resistant bacteria become increasingly difficult to treat, we risk a greater number of deaths from infections.
David Ackerley, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Bacterial DNA extracted from soil includes many genes whose function remains unknown. The novel enzymes these genes code for could be useful in efforts to clean up persistent pollutants.
Our new research found up to 20% of bacteria in wild foods were resistant to a common antibiotic drug. Some samples had resistance to last-resort antibiotics, prescribed when other drugs have failed.
E. coli as a model organism helped researchers better understand how DNA works.
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Researchers uncovered the foundations of biology by using E. coli as a model organism. But over-reliance on this microbe can lead to knowledge blind spots with implications for antibiotic resistance.