Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy

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

A cover story in the economist The Economist explores new  insights into the human microbiome, and the idea of using antibiotics to help regulate it. [The Economist]

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awards funding to US states, territories and cities to prevent and combat infectious diseases through the Affordable Care Act. [HHS.gov]

USA Today reports on the alarming increase of Clostridium difficile infections in U.S. hospitals and potential solutions to the problem. [USA Today]

Discovery writes on the resurgence of diseases that were thought to have been eradicated. [Discovery]

A study shows that frogs suffer more infections from a fungus in conditions with unexpected temperatures swings, suggesting that parasites might become more virulent due to climate change. [Reuters]

In the American Chemical Society’s latest podcast on Global Challenges/Chemical Solutions, researchers discuss a potential new treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs) using non-antibiotic compounds. [ACS]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submits its Annual Report on Food Facilities, Food Imports, and FDA Foreign Offices for 2012 to Congress. [Food Safety News]

A New York Times op-ed urges the White House to speed up their review of the FDA rules necessary to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act, which have been held for review for eight months. [NYTimes]

A study comparing the effectiveness of vancomycin with cefazolin in treating bloodstream infections finds cefazolin to be safer. [Infection Control Today]

Research published in the journal BMJ finds that overdiagnosis of malaria in Afghanistan might be posing a risk to public health. [SciDev]

Meat production without animals? Read more from CNN and Wired.

Researchers have discovered a new class of polymers that are resistant to bacterial attachment, which could be useful for coating medical equipment. [Futurity]

A study published in the Journal of Patient Safety critiques prominent studies on active surveillance of patients with MRSA. The piece refers to data from ResistanceMap to highlight the high burden of MRSA in the Southeast [Journal of Patient Safety]

In a study published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments, researchers explain a novel technique to study interactions between the malaria parasite and HIV. [ScienceCodex]

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C. diff photo via fjbengoat/Flickr