Antibiotic resistance is a bacterial defense mechanism against antibiotics. It can rapidly spread from one bacterium to another. This makes antibiotics increasingly ineffective.
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The level of resistances against antibiotics is rising. This is a great challenge for physicians and scientists. Scientists within the DZIF research field “Healthcare-associated and Antibiotic-resistant bacterial Infections” aim to develop new strategies against the development and spread of resistance.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria are hospital germs and are often resistant to common antibiotics. They can infect all human organs and implants, and can persist in the body for long periods of time in
Tsutsugamushi fever, or “scrub typhus”, is an infectious disease related to typhus, which is endemic in large parts of Asia. The disease has an estimated incidence of approximately one million cases
The National Reference Center at the Research Center Borstel has confirmed a Europe-wide outbreak of a multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain in 29 refugees from the Horn of Africa. The
In the light of growing antibiotic resistance, developing alternative tuberculosis treatment approaches is of critical importance. Scientists at the Research Center Borstel and the DZIF have now shown
Antibiotic resistant bacteria lead to infections that are difficult to treat, particularly in hospitals. Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria which have developed special enzymes that render
For over 20 years, Professor Andreas Peschel from the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has dedicated
Chronic lung infections caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa require complex and, in most cases, long-term treatment with antibiotics. It is generally not possible to completely heal the
The spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is causing concern—and the call for new agents is getting louder and louder. But which antibiotics are needed most urgently? Today, for the first time, the
The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is cause for concern–and no longer constitutes a problem that only hospitals face. In the current issue of Science, DZIF scientists from the University of
Colistin is used as the “last-resort antibiotic” for dreaded multidrug-resistant pathogens, especially in hospitals. However, gut bacteria that have become insensitive to colistin now exist—owing to
