Superbugs News

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has reported 702 confirmed cases of typhoid and its cousin, paratyphoid fever, in 2024 alone. That is an 8% jump from the year before.

Researchers successfully created a simplified, synthesised form of "teixobactin" -- a natural antibiotic capable of killing superbugs, discovered by US scientists in soil samples in 2015.

The discovery was made by replicating a special protein contained in platypus milk in a laboratory setting.

Doctors are often quick to prescribe strong antibiotics for mild infections, helping bacteria evolve resistance to even the most potent drugs.

Infection control guidelines from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention state that re-usable medical equipment, such as stethoscopes, must undergo disinfection.

The WHO Model list of essential medicines for 2017 also came out with recommendations on which antibiotics to use for common infections and which to preserve for the most serious circumstances.

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in the US structurally modified the lifesaving antibiotic called vancomycin to make an already-powerful version of the antibiotic even more potent.

Antibiotic resistance is a leading public health concern worldwide as it threatens nearly five per cent of patients with infections during their stay in hospitals.

Researchers found that it was possible to distinguish not only between those bacteria that are colistin resistant, and those that are not, but also which bacteria have the more dangerous plasmid-encoded resistance.

Researchers at George Mason University have developed a new way to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria while spurring the body's cells to heal cuts faster.

As part of WHO’s efforts to address growing global resistance to antimicrobial medicines, the list was drawn up in a bid to guide and promote research and development (R&D) of new antibiotics.  

The "priority pathogens" list published by the WHO on Monday has three rankings – critical, high and medium – according to how urgently new antibiotics are needed.

Padmanaban and his team are hoping to start human trials of an artemisinin-curcumin combination therapy in both simple malaria cases and in the treatment of the deadly cerebral malaria.

The scientists believe the discovery could also play a role in understanding the development of antibiotic-resistance in patients already suffering from TB.

The outbreak was stopped by substantially reducing use of ciprofloxacin and related antibiotics, researchers said.

Pyelonephritis -- infection of the kidney usually caused by E. coli bacteria and which can start as a urinary tract infection -- causes fever, back pain and vomiting. 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become one of the biggest threats to global health and endangers other major priorities.

The star-shaped structures, are short chains of proteins called 'peptide polymers', and were created by a team from the University of Melbourne School of Engineering.

The lotion prevents infection without directly killing bacteria and promoting antibiotic resistance, and could be ready for clinical trials in three years.

The battle against infections that are resistant to drugs is one the world is losing rapidly and has been described as "as big a risk as terrorism".