French clay that kills several kinds of disease-causing bacteria is at the forefront of new research into age-old, nearly forgotten, but surprisingly potent cures. Among the malevolent bacteria that a French clay has been shown to fight is a "flesh-eating" bug (M. ulcerans) on the rise in Africa and the germ called MRSA, which was blamed for the recent deaths of two children in Virginia and Mississippi.

An open-access commentary in the December 2007 issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology examines a recently launched a global initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat healthcare-associated infection by improving hand hygiene in health care.

Thanks to a discovery by scientists at Robarts Research Institute and The University of Western Ontario, patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis may soon be able to worry less about the risks of infection and lessen their hospital stays.

Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appears to be more prevalent than previously believed, affecting certain populations disproportionately and is being found more often outside of health care settings, according to a study in the October 17 issue of JAMA.

Although doctors routinely use IV antibiotics to cure patients with severe urinary tract infections (UTI), a new review from suggests that oral antibiotics work just as well — from treating acute symptoms to preventing long-term complications of UTI.

Two case studies from Japan presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology point to a potential health problem in the United States, as more Americans consume raw fish in the form of sushi and sashimi. Anisakiasis (round worm) is a human parasitic infection caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood containing Anisakis larvae.

Neuherberg, 4 October. Scientists of the GSF – National Research Center for Environment and Health (Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) found indications for an association between attendance of swimming pools in the first year of life and the frequency of infections. Diarrhoea and otitis media during the first year of life are especially noteworthy. No increased risks were found for atopic diseases during the first six years.

One in four people who are chronically infected with hepatitis B will die from its impact if untreated, but a team of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has identified the most cost-effective way of fighting this treacherous infection.

With extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, life-threatening drug-resistant respiratory and skin infections, and other “bad bugs” routinely making headlines, infectious diseases physicians are applauding Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ) for introducing H.R. 3697, the Strategies To Address Antimicrobial Resistance (STAAR) Act.

High levels of nutrients used in farming and ranching activities fuel parasite infections that have caused highly publicized frog deformities in ponds and lakes across North America, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Lymph nodes can be crucial for spreading low doses of infective prion agents -the pathogens responsible for conditions such as scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - into the nervous system, according to new research published in the online open access journal BMC Veterinary Research.

Space flight has been shown to have a profound impact on human physiology as the body adapts to zero gravity environments. Now, a new study led by researchers from the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has shown that the tiniest passengers flown in space—microbes—can be equally affected by space flight, making them more infectious pathogens.