Antimicrobial resistance is an epidemic that kills close to 5 million people annually. The solutions are complex and must take into account the needs of the poor.
Sacha Pidot, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Scientists are racing to discover new antibiotics that can defeat these drug-resistant superbugs. So how is the newly developed antibiotic clovibactin different?
Quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as QACs or quats, are commonly used antimicrobials also found in many household products. Soap and water may be a safer bet when cleaning surfaces.
Multidrug-resistant fungal infections are an emerging global health threat. Figuring out how fungi evade treatments offers new avenues to counter resistance.
Ivermectin has been a lifesaving drug for people with parasitic infections like river blindness and strongyloidiasis. But taking it for COVID-19 may result in the opposite effect.
Pharmaceutical companies focus on small molecules they’ve devised – and can easily patent. But nature’s already come up with many antibacterial compounds that drug designers could use to make medicines.
The US Centers for Disease Control has reported a woman in her 70s has died of overwhelming sepsis caused by a bacterium that was resistant to all available antibiotics.
Karin Sauer, Binghamton University, State University of New York
The vast majority of the bacteria that surround us are not free-floating but prefer to band together in cooperative communities called biofilms. How do biofilms form and cooperate?
While some ancient therapies proved effective enough that they are still used in some form today, on the whole they just aren’t as good as modern antimicrobials at treating infections.
Antibiotics are used extensively in Africa because of the continent’s high disease burden. This also means that resistance is high. Steps are being taken to raise awareness and encourage prudent use.
We spend much of our time inside buildings. What chemicals and microbes are in here with us? And how do they affect each other? One scientist collects dust to find out.
Which of the following conditions would you prefer to have during your next stay in hospital? A. Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) bloodstream infection; or B. a heart attack?
Joint replacement surgery comes with a big risk of infection. New implant technology that can release silver ions inside the body could help – and without increasing antibiotic resistance.