An award-winning Oxford-based international project to tackle antibiotic resistance has achieved its one millionth classification. BashTheBug is an initiative based in the University of Oxford’s Modernising Medical Microbiology Group at the John Radcliffe Hospital and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). It is a global citizen science project, run … Read more
News for Antimicrobial Resistance and Modernising Microbiology
Oxford team use DNA sequencing and patient data to halt infection outbreak
Clinical and research teams at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust, using infection prevention and control best practice, whole genome sequencing and electronic patient data, have halted an outbreak of a potentially deadly fungal pathogen after detecting that multi-use patient equipment was responsible. The breakthrough at the John Radcliffe Hospital is significant as this … Read more
UK-led study marks shift towards genetic era in tackling TB
In a landmark study that may herald a quicker, more tailored treatment for the millions of people around the world living with tuberculosis (TB), UK researchers have shown how our understanding of TB’s genetic code is now so detailed that we can now predict which commonly used anti-TB drugs are best for treating a patient’s … Read more
Study looks at why co-amoxiclav-resistant E coli infections are on the rise
A study looking at health records in Oxfordshire over nearly 20 years has suggested that measures to improve antibiotic use in GP surgeries might help to combat the spread of difficult-to-treat, antibiotic-resistant E coli infections. The study, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, found that increases in incidence of E coli bloodstream infections were driven … Read more
Oxford medical researchers win prestigious national awards
Leading health researchers in Oxford have been recognised in a prestigious national competition. Eight professors have been named National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators in recognition of their “outstanding contribution to clinical and applied health and social care research”. The successful candidates are all prominent researchers in the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre … Read more
Oxford research project wins digital award for Bashing the Bug!
An Oxford-based international online project to tackle antibiotic resistance has picked up a national health research award. BashTheBug, an initiative funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), brings together volunteers from all over the world to take part in the online research study, which has looked at hundreds … Read more
Pregnant women to help test vaccine against childhood virus
Pregnant women receiving antenatal care in the Women’s Centre at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital (JR) may be asked to take part in a world-first clinical trial to find a vaccine against a common and potentially serious viral infection in babies. Women are being asked if they would like to take part in a research trial … Read more
Drop ‘complete the course’ message for antibiotics, experts say
Oxford researchers are among a group of infectious disease experts to argue that the advice that patients should complete a course of antibiotics is not supported by evidence and should be dropped. In a paper published on Thursday by the BMJ, the authors, who include National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre … Read more
Public invited to help tackle antibiotic resistance
An online project has been launched to study antibiotic resistance in Tuberculosis (TB) with the help of the public. The project website, bashthebug.net, shows volunteers images of a series of small, circular wells, each containing M.tuberculosis (the bug that causes TB) and a different dose of an antibiotic. The users are then asked to identify … Read more
England world leaders in the use of Whole Genome Sequencing to diagnose TB
In a world-first, Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is now being used to identify different strains of tuberculosis, announced Public Health England today. This is the first time that WGS has been used as a diagnostic solution for managing a disease on this scale anywhere in the world. This builds on WGS based services for public … Read more