Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy

A  roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.

A blog post from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation urges patients to stop using antibiotics for the flu and quotes CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan’s recent op-ed in Modern Healthcare. [RWJF]

A Wall Street Journal op-ed on infection control mentions new CDDEP research on K. pneumoniae resistance. [WSJ]

The New York Times reports on a study that suggests antibiotics could be a serious boon to the treatment of malnutrition in children. [NYT]

The Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina published a statement listing eight recommendations to control the spread of antibiotic resistance and to develop urgently needed antibiotics. [Eureka Alert]

Reports and research show that projects implemented across the US to prevent central line infections have cut down the number of infections and associated costs. [The CommonWealth Fund]

Research published in the journal PLoS Pathogens finds that a protein called clumping factor B (ClfB) present on the surface of Staphylococcus aureus greatly aids the pathogen to colonize nasal passages. [MedicalXpress]

A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovers a mechanism through which vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus spreads vancomycin resistance to a non-resistant S. aureus, and suggests potential ways to prevent the transfer. [Phys.Org]

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discusses the pathogens and food that were the most frequent source of illness outbreaks in the US during 2009-2010. [Food Safety News]

As a majority of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are being transmitted from animals to humans, an editorial published in the journal BMJ argues for the necessity of “greater cross sector collaboration between health, veterinary, wildlife and environmental experts” and a “multidisciplinary approach to tackle emerging infectious diseases.” A report published in the journal mBio also reviews the progress and challenges in combating EIDs in the past two decades.  [BMJ, mBio]

To control antibiotic overuse, the UK’s Department of Health is developing a five-year antimicrobial resistance plan, while Australia’s Senate is expected to launch an inquiry “into an expert committee’s 1999 recommendations to combat antibiotic resistance.”  [Pew Health]

In an interview with CNBC, Bill Gates, founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, says that infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV can be eradicated and stresses the need for public funding to do so. [CNBC]

In research published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, researchers describe the camouflaging mechanism by which the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum evades “destruction by the human complement system.” [Research in Germany]

According to US health officials, most adult Americans are not getting their recommended vaccinations. [Courier Journal]

Want to receive the weekly digest in your inbox?  Enter your email address in the "receive updates" box.

Image via Nathan Reading/Flickr