Antibiotic Research UK was delighted to present Professor Kevin Outterson, CEO of CARB-X, as the keynote speaker at this year’s annual lecture. Antibacterial effectiveness is a global public good, but is being eroded by resistance and broken business models. Professor Outterson outlined the problems we face from drug-resistant bacteria, and – more importantly – the solutions. He focuses on changing …
DIAMOND study shows new treatment combination could reduce antibiotic use
Antibiotic Research UK-funded research project DIAMOND has recently published very promising findings in the Pilot and Feasibility Studies journal. The DIAMOND study tested a combination of existing over-the-counter remedies for the treatment of travellers’ diarrhoea. The combination was discovered to have potential in a few isolated cases. It has now been extended to a wider group of patients in China. …
Antibiotic resistance breakers back on track
Research funded by Antibiotic Research UK is now back on track after a pandemic-related pause. Our project to discover potential antibiotic resistance ‘breakers’ identified one particularly promising combination of treatments. We can now test that combination on samples of bacteria (isolates) taken from infected patients at participating hospitals. Antibiotic resistance breakers – how do they work? Resistance breakers are combinations …
E. coli: infections under the microscope
Escherichia coli (E. coli), is a type of bacteria that occurs in the intestines of people and animals, often without causing any problems at all. But in some cases it causes illnesses ranging from mild (acute diarrhoea) to life-threatening (haemolytic-uremic syndrome and severe bacteraemia). One study demonstrates that E. coli caused fatal diarrhoea in nearly 60,000 people in 2016, globally. …
Vaccines and clots; how to balance medical risks
We have explored the general medical theme behind many of the COVID-19 headlines over the past year. The latest hot topic is the apparent risk of blood clots as a side effect of some COVID vaccines. So what are the risks, and what can this teach us about medicine? All medicines carry the risk of side effects or severe adverse …
COVID-19: a glimpse into our future?
The year is 2051. More than 10 million people have died from antibiotic-resistant infections this year. People are asking why we didn’t do more to protect our precious antibiotics. Why are people dying from what were previously ‘minor’ infections? How did such a devastating pandemic come out of nowhere like this? The truth is that the above situation could happen …
C. diff: infections under the microscope
Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, is a type of bacteria that can live in our digestive system without causing any problems. In fact, it is present in around 1 in 30 of us. But it can also cause a nasty infection and is the most common cause of hospital diarrhoea. It particularly affects people who have recently received antibiotics. These …
Gut bacteria, antibiotics and human health
Did you know there are as many bacterial cells in the human body as there are human cells? These bacteria are essential to life and good health. They are also of increasing interest to scientists and doctors investigating causes of ill health. This blog provides a simple summary of some of the latest and most interesting research in the field …
Could mRNA vaccines protect us from antibiotic-resistant infections?
A new type of vaccine – mRNA vaccines – were first seen in clinical practice as COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines offer hope for much faster production of vaccines, even those for bacterial illnesses (remember, COVID-19 is caused by a virus). Traditional vaccines include a dead or weakened (also called ‘attenuated’) sample of the bacteria that we want the immune system …
MRSA – Antibiotic resistant bacteria explained Staphylococcus aureus – Antibiotic Research UK
In this post, we’re going to share some information about MRSA and antibiotic resistance. First Documented: 1884 Illness Caused: Pneumonia, Flesh Eating Disease Antibiotic Resistance: Medium Virulence: Dangerous MRSA is a bacteria and acronym to make a long condition easy to remember! The full name is methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. We struggle to remember it, so we don’t blame you if you stick to the …