Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Learn more”
We appreciate the UK government is doing its best to ramp up COVID-19 testing. There are two types of tests we need to help fight the virus. 1) finding if a person is infected with COVID-19. This requires testing using PCR. 2) finding if a person has been infected, which requires an immunoassay test. The simplest of these tests uses …
These questions have been asked of Arlene Brailey, Antibiotic Research UK’s Patient Support Officer, by quite a few patients now. They already battle resistant infections on a daily basis. The coronavirus has introduced a new element of fear for them about their safety within our communities. One patient, Lisa, confided that: “People at risk are living in fear, living in …
These are the words of Lisa, who has resistant bacteria continually collecting around surgical devices in her body which cause dreadful infection and make her feel really unwell. She has also experienced severe pneumonia on several occasions. She told our Patient Support Officer, Arlene, that “We need to use coronavirus to our advantage, and we need to learn lessons from …
Secondary bacterial infections are often the primary cause of COVID-19 deaths. Research shows that opportunistic bacterial infections caused nearly half of the deaths of people with COVID-19 and a bacterial infection in Wuhan. Now, more than ever, we need to invest in developing new antibiotics. We have seen this before: in the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic (swine flu); up to …
Our Patient Support Officer, Arlene Brailey, the country’s first Support Officer, supporting people with antibiotic resistant bacterial infections writes; As Patient Support Officer, I have heard from so many patients who worry about where to get reliable information. They want to know what websites and sources of information to trust. I am here to help them – and you – …
As the Patient Support Officer for Antibiotic Research UK, I hear from lots of people. I am used to receiving calls, emails and texts from patients and individuals who are affected in some way by recurring or antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. They usually have requests for information about a particular bacterial infection they (or a loved one) has. Sometimes they …
People who are infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) but do not fall ill are increasingly believed to be spreading the infection far and wide. That’s why we needed the Government measures to contain the outbreak to come weeks earlier than they did. ‘Typhoid Mary’, or Mary Mallon, was the first documented person with typhoid to show no symptoms. The first infamous …
Professor Sharon Peacock is a world-renowned expert in tracking bacterial antibiotic resistance genes using molecular techniques (1). She reported to the UK Parliament last week that a finger prick test kit for anti-COVID-19 antibodies will soon be available. Sharon, who was a Trustee of Antibiotic Research UK until she resigned last year to take up the role of Director of …
Many of our charity team lead a double-life, and my multi-faceted one (which also includes being an actor) is as a campaigner for the NHS and other health charities. That means I spend time a few hours each month on the stroke ward at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, reading and chatting to patients for that lovely good cause, Interact. Sometimes, …
Stronger restrictions by the UK Government are being ignored. This risks the lives of thousands across the country – and particularly in London. The fourth of a series of opinion pieces by Professor Colin Garner DSc on commuting during coronavirus in the UK. On the 23 March 2020 the UK Government announced that the police now have powers to enforce …
I will be writing a regular blog about the pandemic which will give my personal views. These are not the official view of our charity. Antibiotic Research UK is focussed on drug-resistant bacterial infections. Sadly, these can be a consequence of viral infections such as coronavirus (COVID-19). I have given some of the background in a previous blog post. Government …
Notice the difference? Can you spot who in the COVID-19 group is infected and who is not? You can’t – and that’s the problem. Coronavirus testing You can only find out who has and who has had a COVID-19 infection by testing their blood either for the virus or for antibodies against the virus. The UK is, according to government …
Yesterday 1 June 2019 at 5.30pm the BBC Radio 4 programme The Bottom Line was broadcast. Hosted by the well known BBC presenter Evan Davis, the programme was the first in a new series of this long running business programme. Focussing on why new antibiotics are not being developed, Antibiotic Research UK’s Chief Executive Professor Colin Garner was invited to …
At the All Party Parliamentary Group Meeting on antibiotics held in the Palace of Westminster on 13 November 2018 (unfortunately not attended by many MPs or members of the House of Lords) Kevin Outterson, director of CARB-X presented on the parlous state of small US biotech companies working in the antibiotic development space. He showed that for six US companies …
The short answer is I doubt it. The problem of bacterial antibiotic resistance is not new but successive governments around the world have failed to implement real change or put significant financial incentives in place. Numerous reports, meetings and government statements about the problem have failed to reverse the trend of major pharma withdrawing from developing new antibiotics against bacterial …
We read a lot in the media about antibiotic resistance and what would happen if antibiotics stopped working. Well here are a few facts you should be aware of; It has been estimated that antibiotics have increased average life expectancy in the developed world by as much as 20 years Before antibiotics, 90% of children with bacterial meningitis died. Among …
2017 has been a busy year for Antibiotic Research UK. Antibiotic resistance is on the increase, but the charity is working hard to find solutions. Our research programmes are yielding positive results, and through 2017, we’ve uncovered potential new therapies for breaking antibiotic resistance that we will be exploring further in 2018. We want to thank everyone who has supported …
The Great British Tea Party 2017, Antibiotic Research UK’s national annual fundraising event, has had its most successful year yet, with more Tea Parties held than ever before. The fundraising week, timed to coincide with World Antibiotic Awareness Week, has kept everyone busy with baking cakes, making pots of tea, and generally having fun- all the while, raising money for …
CATCH, a fictional short film about a father and daughter quarantined in their home in a post-antibiotic world, is due to be released free online at the start of World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Monday 13th November at 00:00 GMT. The film explores the relationship between a father and daughter, imagining what a world would look like without the presence of …
England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has reiterated her warning of a “post-antibiotic apocalypse” this month, as she encouraged world leaders to tackle the pressing threat of resistance to antibiotics. Addressing health officials in Berlin, Dame Sally said that if antibiotics lose their effectiveness, it would spell “the end of modern medicine”. Without the drugs used to fight infections, common …
