The gut microbiome of infants is dominated by Bifidobacterium, a species that produce acids that suppress the growth of other taxa of bacteria that might be more likely to contain antimicrobial resistance genes.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: A Global Catastrophe that Arrived in 3 Waves
One hundred years ago this year, an influenza pandemic spread around the globe at an alarming rate. When the influenza season ended in 1919, one out of every three human beings, or about 600 million people, suffered from the infection, called the Spanish flu, and at least 50 million people did not survive it.
Urgent Care Centers’ Prescribing Practices Raise Risk of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
During the healthcare reform debate of a decade ago, urgent care and other innovative patient access ideas, like the retail clinics seen in many chain grocery and pharmacies today, were promoted as a cost-effective alternative to primary care at a time when the nation’s medical schools were graduating fewer and fewer primary care physicians. The combination of fewer primary care physicians and the lack of health insurance was driving a very costly trend in the U.S.—the use of emergency departments for primary care.
The Unnecessary Burden of Prescribing Antibiotics to Asthma Patients without Proof of Infection
By the bioMérieux Connection Editors In addition to promoting antibiotic resistance, a recent study illustrates how giving antibiotics to patients with asthma exacerbation without any documented indication of lung infection can lengthen hospital stay, increase cost of care and result in increased risk for antibiotic-related diarrhea. According to the researchers, this study is the largest …
The Value of Diagnostics in Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance – A Public Health Problem
At this year’s World Anti-Microbial Resistance Congress, Dr. Tristan Timbrook delivered a...
Lindsay Denny Discusses the Critical Role of WASH in Preventing Infectious Diseases and Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance
WASH, which stands for water, sanitation, and hygiene, are basic...