Sepsis Deaths of a Young Mother and Six-Year-Old Boy in the UK Bring Attention to the Need for Rapid, Accurate Diagnosis & Timely Intervention

By the bioMérieux Connection Editors In April of this year, Natalie Billingham was taken to the Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals by her husband, Stuart Billingham, due to flu-like symptoms and debilitating pain in her foot. According to news reports, she was examined and sent home. The next morning, her condition was much worse, so …

Unusual Case of Newborn with Salmonella Revealed with Rapid Diagnostics

by the bioMérieux Connection Editors A 4-week-old infant was admitted to pediatric ICU at the Lifespan Academic Medical Center in Providence, RI. The baby had a high fever, light sensitivity, tenderness in the neck and head, and was irritable and lethargic, with nausea and no appetite. It was difficult to awaken the child from sleep. …

Antibiotics, Antidepressants, and Opioids Found in Puget Sound Shellfish

by the bioMérieux Connection Editors As “filter feeders,” mussels provide a great method for detecting pollutants in waterways. If it’s there, mussels will ingest it. With this in mind, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) started the Puget Sound Mussel Monitoring Program: every two years, the WDFW transplants uncontaminated mussels from aquaculture facilities to …

Multi-Drug Resistant E. coli Rampant in Nursing and Long-Term Care Facilities

By the bioMérieux Connection Editors The May 2017 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control contained an eye-opening paper on the incidence of antibiotic resistant pathogens in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. “Prevalence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria among nursing home residents: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” by Sainfer Aliyu et al., selected 12 …