Stethoscopes are used in nearly every patient examination, and they belong to the basic equipment of general practitioners. To prevent the transmission of germs, medical specialists should disinfect the device after each patient contact. An invention by a 16-year-old girl could simplify this hygiene measure immensely.
You might say the norovirus is the ninja of the virus world: stealthy and highly efficient. Ten virus particles are enough to infect a human being. This makes the virus one of the most infectious pathogens out there. Especially during the colder winter months, the number of gastrointestinal diseases caused by the virus rises rapidly.
It is a figure that is significantly higher than previously thought: Around 33,000 Europeans die every year as a result of bacterial infections. The main reason is that antibiotics are no longer effective against many of these infections. Even last-line antibiotics are no longer able to cure almost 40 percent of all infections investigated in a recent study.
Increasingly, bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. When no antibiotic is effective, even "simple" infections can lead to patient death. Researchers have found a new approach for eliminating the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Researchers from Vienna and Belfast have found out how the immune system slows down the growth of the multi-resistant germ Klebsiella pneumoniae. The results could lead to new therapeutic options for treating infections.
The global spread of multi-resistant bacteria, particularly gram-negative bacteria, is a risk for patients. When this type of germ is detected in a hospital, the traditional strategy of “screening, isolation and eradication” usually takes effect. But does evidence prove that this method really is the most effective? A team of researchers asked themselves this question and came to astonishing conclusions.
A newly discovered antibody could be used to treat several bacteria simultaneously - including hospital germs that are resistant to many antibiotics. This has been reported by a recent study.
A newly discovered class of lipopeptide antibiotics fights multi-resistant bacteria. Scientists at the TU Berlin are working on translating their findings into new drugs.
As antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to spread, calls for new therapeutics are getting louder. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has drawn up a list of the twelve most important bacteria for which new drugs urgently must be developed.
Every year more than 30 million patients worldwide suffer from healthcare-associated sepsis. To prevent avoidable infections and improve patients’ safety, every year on the 5th of May, the World Health Organization calls upon healthcare facilities to sign up for its campaign SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands. This campaign encourages healthcare professionals to take concrete actions and use hand hygiene best practices. Three useful facts.
