Category Archives: Ecology

Some Interesting Staphylococcus aureus Factoids

Posted on March 7, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

Or maybe terrifying is a better word. I just returned from the Network on Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus meeting, where I learned some very interesting things about S. aureus (since I’m going to refer to MRSA, methicillin resistant S. aureus repeatedly, go check this link if you want to know more about MRSA):
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Posted in Antibiotics, Ecology, Evolution, Microbiology, MRSA, Plasmids, Public Health | 13 Comments

A Commensal ‘Epidemic’ in E. coli?

Posted on March 1, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

It sure looks that way. Last night, I was talking to a colleague and he told me that several groups, including his, are seeing a very interesting pattern in commensal Escherichia coli (those E. coli that live in everyone’s gut and aren’t making us sick).
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Posted in E. coli, Ecology, Evolution, Microbiology, MRSA | 24 Comments

It’s the ‘Boring’ Bacteria That Make You Sick

Posted on February 15, 2007 by mikethemadbiologist

I’ve blogged before about how, for children under five, it’s not the ‘sexy’ microbes that kill, but instead, the run of the mill ones: the bacteria that cause diarrhea and pneumonia are the culprits. One of the things I have heard a lot of recently regarding antibiotic development (and related therapies) is that we need to focus on ‘non-paradigm’ and non-model organisms. There’s a problem with that approach.
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Posted in Acinetobacter, Antibiotics, E. coli, Ecology, Microbiology, MRSA | 8 Comments

Salmonella and Illegal Antibiotic Use in Agriculture

Posted on November 25, 2006 by mikethemadbiologist

One topic that I don’t discuss enough is the role that the agricultural use of antibiotics plays in the evolution (and ecology) of antibiotic resistance. A recent review in Clinical Microbiology and Infection describes how the illegal use of nitrofuran antibiotics in Portugese agriculture led to an increase in highly virulent Salmonella.
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Posted in Agriculture, Antibiotics, Ecology, Evolution, Microbiology | 5 Comments

Will Political Appointees at FDA Overrule a Panel of Experts and Increase Cefepime Resistance?

Posted on November 16, 2006 by mikethemadbiologist

A few weeks ago, an FDA expert panel by a vote of 6-4 decided against the approval of the use of the antibiotic cefquinome in cattle. Unfortunately, I’ve heard through the grapevine that the political appointees at the FDA plan to overrule the expert panel and approve the use of cefquinome. The chairman of the panel is under pressure to alter the panel’s findings, and the FDA has not posted the minutes of the meeting, which is apparently required by law.
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