An interdisciplinary team of engineering and pharmaceutical researchers at the University of Alberta has invented a device that can rapidly identify harmful bacteria and can determine whether it is resistant to antibiotics. The device could save precious hours in patient care and public health, and prevent the spread of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. The team’s [...]
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is lending its support to Lord O’Neil’s latest review on the global threat of antibiotics resistance and his proposals to reduce prescriptions of antibiotics. Dr Maureen Baker, Chair of the RCGP, commented, ‘Resistance to antibiotics continues to be a global threat, yet astonishingly, there hasn't been a new [...]
At least 30 per cent of antibiotics prescribed in the US are unnecessary, according to new data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with Pew Charitable Trusts and other public health and medical experts. The study analysed antibiotic use in doctors’ offices and emergency [...]
Preauthorisation of broad-spectrum antibiotics and prospective review after two or three days of treatment should form the cornerstone of antibiotic stewardship programs to ensure the right drug is prescribed at the right time for the right diagnosis. These are among the numerous recommendations included in new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America [...]
Action to prevent a future health crisis caused by antimicrobial resistance has seen the number of antibiotics prescribed in primary care fall substantially last year. The progress follows the introduction of financial incentives in April 2015 by NHS England working with Public Health England (PHE). Between April and December 2015, two million fewer prescriptions were dispensed compared [...]
To meet the challenge of the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria (superbugs), national charity Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK) is commissioning the first ever research programme to screen antibiotic resistance breakers against antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. ANTRUK is asking scientific organisations and universities to submit tenders for this testing to see if therapies already in [...]
NHS England has launched the world’s largest healthcare incentive scheme for hospitals, family doctors and other health service providers to prevent the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Launched against the backdrop of the International Patient Safety Conference taking place at Lancaster House in London today, funding will be made available to hospitals and other providers [...]
Tackling antibiotic resistance on only one front is a waste of time because resistant genes are freely crossing environmental, agricultural and clinical boundaries, new research involving the University of Strathclyde has shown. Analysis of historic soil archives dating back to 1923 has revealed a clear parallel between the appearance of antibiotic resistance in medicine and [...]
The latest report from the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), recently released, highlights the lack of vaccines and alternative approaches to antibiotics available for doctors to use to tackle many of our most urgent drug resistance threats and calls for more investment into developing these products. Responding to the report and a call from Jim [...]
