The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) is investigating an outbreak involving an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella sonnei strain at a retirement community in Wake Robin. The outbreak involves 22 confirmed and 44 probable cases.
Staphylococcus aureus hospitalizations at US pediatric hospitals fell by 36% from 2009 to 2016, with methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) declining by 52%, with a corresponding drop in antibiotic use, according to a study today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
A pilot study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins has found that using a special antiseptic shampoo and wipes to decolonize therapy dogs before and between visits with young cancer patients can reduce the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The findings were presented today at IDWeek 2018.
A workgroup on behavioral approaches to antibiotic stewardship has identified research priority areas for optimizing effective implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) in hospital settings. The findings were published yesterday in Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported yesterday that French diagnostics firm bioMerieux has recalled two of its antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) cards because of false results for some strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
A longitudinal study of inpatients at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) acute care hospitals has found that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization significantly increases the risk of MRSA infection, with a substantial number of infections occurring after discharge from the hospital, VA researchers report in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
A new study by researchers with a health system in Detroit indicates that a small, behavioral "nudge" in microbiology reporting increased de-escalation and discontinuation of unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotics in pneumonia patients. The results were reported in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
A new European surveillance report shows rising resistance to key antibiotics, and increasing trends in multidrug resistance, in invasive gram-negative bacteria.
Patients incorrectly labeled as allergic to penicillin are more likely to receive broad-spectrum antibiotics, a practice that promotes resistance.
The Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government, in partnership with Australia's Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Department of Health, released a new report showing that targeting high-prescribing physicians with a letter from the CMO helped lower the number of antibiotic prescriptions within 6 months.
