HIGHLIGHTS WHO has published a list of antibiotic-resistant ‘priority pathogens’- a catalogue of 12 families of bacteria Most of these 12 superbugs have presence in India Rampant use of antibiotics said to be responsible for bacteria becoming resistant NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published its first ever list of antibiotic-resistant ‘priority…
“It is not difficult to make microbes resistant to penicillin in the laboratory by exposing them to concentrations not sufficient to kill them … The time may come when penicillin can be bought by anyone in the shops. Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his…
(CNN) Twelve types of bacteria were deemed “priorities” in urgent need of new antibiotics, according to a list released by the World Health Organization on Monday. The first list of its kind, it highlights bacteria that global health experts believe pose the greatest threats to human health. The WHO is calling on governments and pharmaceutical companies…
Phage therapy may finally be gaining ground in the United States. Researchers from Tufts University just reported that a virus cocktail effectively prevents cholera in an animal model. According to study author Andrew Camilli, “while phage therapy has existed for decades, our study is proof-of-principle that it can be used to protect against infection and…
In the gut, in the soil, and myriad other spots, bacteria reign, forming complex communities—but not in isolation. They’re often influenced by bacteria-killing viruses known as bacteriophages. A recent study in Cell now shows how such viruses can infect bystander, virus-resistant bacteria and transfer bits of DNA to them. Phage are known to facilitate horizontal gene transfer, a movement…
Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are the planet’s most numerous microorganisms. They kill vast numbers of bacteria in natural environments. They can also be used to treat bacterial infections. In the 1920s and 1930s, before antibiotics became widely available, physicians in the United States and other countries successfully treated a variety of infections with bacteriophages…
Viruses sense chemical signals left behind by their forebears so they can decide whether to kill or just to infect their hosts. The discovery — in viruses that attack Bacillus bacteria — marks the first time that any type of viral communication system has ever been found. But researchers say that many other viruses could communicate with…
Yesterday morning, I published a story about the silent spread of resistance against the antibiotic of last resort, colistin—a major step toward the emergence of a superbug resistant to all antibiotics. While reporting this story, I interviewed Alex Kallen, an epidemiologist at the CDC, and I asked if anyone had found such a superbug yet. “Funny you…
Dodge Pond, which sits on the outskirts of East Lyme, Conn., is an ordinary New England lake. It’s home to fish like bluegill and alewife, along with smaller organisms like water fleas, algae, and bacteria. There are viruses in Dodge Pond, too, most of which infect its bacteria. And one of Dodge Pond’s viruses, known…
It’s been used in the former USSR for a century. Now the West is taking notice Bacteriophage – or ‘phage’ for short – is a virus that infects bacteria. These naturally occurring infective agents contaminate bacteria and replicate once within. They are everywhere – including all over our bodies where they outnumber bacteria 10 to…