Kim Lewis, PhD, Boston-based Northeastern University Distinguished Professor and director of Northeastern’s Antimicrobial Discovery Center, led the study.
Here are three points:
1. Researchers focused on a subpopulation of bacterial cells called persisters, which are living cells that exist in a dormant, sporelike state and are able to survive the onslaught of antibiotics, because antibiotics only attack actively functioning bacterial cells.
2. Dr. Lewis and researchers found nothing they or anyone else had learned from E. coli or other bacteria applied to staph, and that staph had a completely new mechanism for persister formation. Loss of energy shut the staph cells down.
3. Additional researchers from Northeastern University, as well as from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., contributed to the study.
More articles on quality & infection control:
Sen. John Cornyn pushes back against $1.9B Zika emergency fund — 3 notes
MPIRICA Health adds 1M+ outpatient quality scores — 5 insights
New drug treatment may stop sepsis: 5 observations
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.