Free Republic

BROWNSVILLE - The origin of drug-resistant bacteria's recent outbreak at Cameron County hospitals is stumping health officials. Similar outbreaks of the opportunistic Acinetobacter baumannii have been possibly linked to war veterans. But Dr. Brian Smith of the Texas Department of State Health Services said Friday that the source of the local AB outbreaks was still unknown. And while U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention studies suggests the bacteria could be linked to war veterans, there is no evidence that the local outbreak could have originated from a military veteran who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, Smith said. In an...

CDC: Flu outbreaks reported in 11 states By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Fri Feb 1, 8:29 PM ET WASHINGTON - Flu season is in full swing, with wide outbreaks in 11 states — and a new strain is starting to emerge that this year's vaccine doesn't specifically target, the government's public health chief said Friday. People still should get their flu shot, and there's plenty available, Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press. So far, the majority of flu cases are being caused by strains that are a good match...

GPs urge millions hit by bug to stay at home By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor and Aislinn Simpson Last Updated: 2:14am GMT 03/01/2008 Doctors' leaders warned people struck down by a violent stomach bug sweeping the country not to return to work as GPs reported that they were being inundated by sufferers. More than 100,000 people a week are catching norovirus, which causes sudden vomiting and diarrhoea, and the numbers contracting the disease will peak this month. The NHS advises patients affected to stay at home for 48 hours after they last suffered the symptoms Thousands of workers and children...

M&S pyjamas' silver lining helps stop MRSA Last Updated: 2:39am GMT 29/11/2007 Pyjamas that have been designed to protect hospital patients from the MRSA superbug have gone on sale in Marks & Spencer. The £45 garment has silver thread woven into it, which tests show can reduce the spread of infections. The ongoing clinical trial's interim results are positive M&S is selling the "Sleepsafe" pyjamas, below, at 100 stores as part of a trial. Silver-laced nightwear has been tested in a handful of hospitals, but M&S has become the first retailer in Britain to stock the pyjamas. They are only...

Hundreds die from deadly bacteria JERUSALEM, March 7 (UPI) -- Doctors said an antibiotic-resistant bacterium known as Klebsiella pneumoniae has killed as many as 200 patients in hospitals across Israel. Elderly patients and people with weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable to the bacterium, Arutz Sheva reported. Epidemiologist Yehuda Carmeli of the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv said 400 to 500 people have been infected by the bug. "Thirty to forty percent of them have already died," Carmeli told YNetNews. "However, it is important to note that most of them were in a serious condition, and some were suffering...

rp rise in suberbug death toll By Matthew Moore and PA Last Updated: 3:04pm GMT 22/02/2007 More patients are dying of conditions linked to the hospital superbugs MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C-diff), it was revealed today. Between 2004 and 2005, mention of MRSA on death certificates rose by 39 per cent while mention of C-diff rose 69 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Conservatives today described the rise as "staggering", and said the Government had failed to put in place an effective strategy for combatting the bugs. "Labour's savage bed cuts over the...