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UNDERSTANDING EPIDEMICS OF ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT ENTEROCOCCI (pp 853, 855)
March 15, 2001Antibiotic resistance in bacteria, in particular Vancomycin resistance in enterococci, is a growing problem in hospitals. Two research letters in this week's issue of THE LANCET give new insights into how bacteria acquire vancomycin resistance, how they cause epidemics, and suggest new strategies for monitoring and possibly controlling infections.
Timothy Stinear and colleagues from Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre Heidelberg, Melbourne, Australia, found the vanB gene, which codes for vancomycin resistance, in two normally non-pathogenic species of anaerobic bacteria suggesting that transfer of resistance might occur among bacteria in the gut.
In the second research letter - posted on THE LANCET's website earlier this week - Rob Willems and colleagues from the National Institute of Public Health, Bilthoven, Netherlands, studied vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecium from epidemic and non-epidemic isolates in the USA and Europe. They found that a particular subpopulation was associated with epidemic outbreaks and that these epidemic strains carried a variant of the esp gene, which codes for a cell surface protein required for attachment of the bacteria to gut cells. They suggest that the variant esp gene might be a marker of epidemic strains, and possibly a target for therapy.
Contact: Dr Paul Johnson, Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre Heidelberg, 3084, Melbourne, Australia; T) +61 3 9496 6678; F) +61 3 9496 5123;
E) Paul.Johnson@armc.org.au
Dr Rob Willems, Research Laboratory for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, Netherlands; T) +31 30 274 4050; F) +31 30 274 4449;
E) rob.willems@rivm.nl or Dr Marc Bonten, T) +31 30 250 9111; F) +31 30 25 23 741; E) bonte023@wxs.nl
Lancet
Contact: Dr Paul Johnson, Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre Heidelberg, 3084, Melbourne, Australia; T) +61 3 9496 6678; F) +61 3 9496 5123;
E) Paul.Johnson@armc.org.au
Dr Rob Willems, Research Laboratory for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, Netherlands; T) +31 30 274 4050; F) +31 30 274 4449;
E) rob.willems@rivm.nl or Dr Marc Bonten, T) +31 30 250 9111; F) +31 30 25 23 741; E) bonte023@wxs.nl
Lancet
Bacteria Current Events and Bacteria News RSSFactors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis
Current research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. The related report by Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Human Bacterium Represent a New Class of TLR2 Ligands Capable of Enhancing Autoimmunity," appears in the December 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Exposure to both traffic, indoor pollutants puts some kids at higher risk for asthma later
New research presents strong evidence that the "synergistic" effect of early-life exposure to both outdoor traffic-related pollution and indoor endotoxin causes more harm to developing lungs than one or the other exposure alone.
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The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA-an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics-poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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Surface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance
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On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva
A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites.
Cigarettes Harbor Many Bacteria Harmful to Human Health
Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France.
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