Biofilms are protective layers that bacteria create to shield themselves from your immune system and to evade antibiotics. Biofilm colonies help bacteria to hide inside your body and can cause recurring Staph or MRSA infections. These protective colonies also allow bacteria to communicate with each other to become more resistant to antibiotics. Biofilms are a common problem plaguing catheters, pic lines and implanted medical devices that cause infections.
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Antibiotic Resistance Archives
How to make your antibiotics work better
Antibiotic drugs are becoming less effective against superbugs like MRSA and CRE, but there are ways to slow and even reverse this trend.
Antibiotic drugs are becoming less effective against MRSA each year, but there are ways to slow and even reverse this trend. Last week CNN did a story about yet another emerging superbug called CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae). This bacterial infection has been around for a while, but this new strain is resistant to many of the most powerful antibiotics and has been spreading in hospitals over the last 10 years.
Hospital infections now a leading cause of death
Hospital acquired infections are those you get from a health care facility.
While it probably comes as no surprise that hospital acquired infections (HAI) are dangerous and can be deadly, a study in the Archives of Surgery show that they are now among the top 5 causes of death in the US.
MRSA in milk – a cause for concern?
More MRSA found in the food supply made the news again last month. A study by Cambridge University staff found a new strain of MRSA in milk from the United Kingdom. MRSA has previously been found in meats, pork and on pig farms but it’s presence in milk is a more recent finding.
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MRSA on a farm near you?
A woman struggling with recurring infections recently asked me if the livestock farm she lived near could be causing her infections. She lives near a pig farm and suspected that her infections were somehow linked with the farm. As it turns out, a recent study of MRSA positive pig farms highlights the potential dangers of antibiotic resistant bacteria and airborne MRSA from contaminated farms.
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Chlorhexidine side effects and safety precautions you should know
This is part 2 of a series covering the use of topical chlorhexidine soap for infections and decolonization and will cover side-effects, precautions and issues with growing bacterial resistance.
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Chlorhexidine baths for MRSA decolonization – Get the facts
This is the first of a 2 part series on the use of Chlorhexidine as a skin wash and MRSA decolonization protocol.
In the news lately are more scientific studies confirming the level of resistance of MRSA and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria against the antiseptic skin cleanser called chlorhexidine gluconate, or CHG. Chlorhexidine gluconate washes are commonly prescribed to help prevent MRSA infections and help in skin decolonization for MRSA. CHG is normally well tolerated, but it does have some important precautions you should know about, including some occasion serious side effects.
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Superbugs in a sewer near you?
Water-borne bacteria are picking up the ability to resist antibiotics. Particularly notable are the “Vibrios” type bacteria which as a group, are responsible for seafood poisoning and gastroenteritis or cholera.
The Vibrios group of bacteria are the leading cause of seafood-borne illness and death in the United States and are a public health issue around the world. Most Vibrios bacteria cause gastroenteritis, but they can also infect open wounds and cause blood poisoning. Scientists have found these water-borne bacteria are becoming resistant to many types of antibiotics. Why is that?
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