Health News
- Consumer Reports Releases Annual Hospital-acquired Infection Report; Some Ky. Hospitals Have Work To Do; State To Get Data
A new study from Consumer Reports has analyzed hospital-acquired infection data for thousands of hospitals across the U.S. and rated them on how well they prevented these infections. Not all hospitals in Kentucky were rated, but of the ones that were,...
- New Rule Will Improve Reporting Of Antibiotic-resistant Infections In Health-care Facilities, Which Are Getting Worse In Kentucky
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. ? Kentucky will have a new weapon, in the form of data, to fight infections acquired in hospitals and other health-care facilities, with legislative approval of a regulation that changes...
- Kentucky Hospitals Disagree On How To Battle Mrsa, An Antibiotic-resistant And Highly Contagious Bacteria That Plagues Them
Hospitals agree that precautions must be taken to fight the potentially deadly super bug MRSA, but they differ in their approaches, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal. Swab kits are used to screen for MRSA. (Photo: Matt Stone, C-J)Ungar focuses...
- Kentucky Second Highest In Antibiotic Consumption In U.s.
The next time you ask your doctor for an antibiotic, or if he or she offers to give you one, think again. It might do your health no good, but could be bad for public health. "Every time an antibiotic is used ... future effectiveness of that drug is diminished,"...
- How To Reduce Your Chance Of Aquiring A Staph Infection
In the news today, a new scientific report suggests that swimmers using public ocean beaches increase their risk for exposure to staph bacteria and potential infections. Staph infections are a growing public health concern. You acquire a staph infection...
Health News
Initial research is promising for an ancient combination of natural ingredients to kill MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant superbug
Researchers in England say an ancient folk cure might help kill the superbug MRSA, Justin Moyer reports for The Washington Post.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated MRSA contributed to the deaths of more than 5,000 people in the United States in 2013, Moyer reports. Kentucky has the third highest rate of MRSA bloodstream infections in the nation, according to the National Healthcare Safety Network. Moyer writes that "some say it could eventually kill more people than cancer."
Christina Lee, an associate professor in Viking studies at Nottingham, told Moyer "that it was the combination of ingredients that proved effective against MRSA, which shows that people living in medieval times were not as barbaric as popularly thought."
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is among the infections that have grown resistant to antibiotics because the drugs have been overused, and scientists have been fighting it technologically, Moyer writes.
But researchers have recently found that MRSA is "vulnerable to an ancient remedy" made of garlic, some onion or leek, copper, wine and oxgall, or cow?s bile. Garlic and copper have been thought to have antibiotic or antimicrobial properties.
?We were absolutely blown away by just how effective the combination of ingredients was,? Freya Harrison, one of the researchers from the University of Nottingham, told the BBC, Moyer reports.
The remedy, called eye salve, was found in a manuscript written in Old English from the 10th century called "Bald's Leechbook," a well-respected physician's desk reference from that time, Moyer reports.
The remedy, called eye salve, was found in a manuscript written in Old English from the 10th century called "Bald's Leechbook," a well-respected physician's desk reference from that time, Moyer reports.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated MRSA contributed to the deaths of more than 5,000 people in the United States in 2013, Moyer reports. Kentucky has the third highest rate of MRSA bloodstream infections in the nation, according to the National Healthcare Safety Network. Moyer writes that "some say it could eventually kill more people than cancer."
Moyer notes that the abstract for a conference at which the research will be presented cautions that "oxgall was no cure-all," saying, "Antibacterial activity of a substance in laboratory trials does not necessarily mean the historical remedy it was taken from actually worked in toto.?
Christina Lee, an associate professor in Viking studies at Nottingham, told Moyer "that it was the combination of ingredients that proved effective against MRSA, which shows that people living in medieval times were not as barbaric as popularly thought."
- Consumer Reports Releases Annual Hospital-acquired Infection Report; Some Ky. Hospitals Have Work To Do; State To Get Data
A new study from Consumer Reports has analyzed hospital-acquired infection data for thousands of hospitals across the U.S. and rated them on how well they prevented these infections. Not all hospitals in Kentucky were rated, but of the ones that were,...
- New Rule Will Improve Reporting Of Antibiotic-resistant Infections In Health-care Facilities, Which Are Getting Worse In Kentucky
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. ? Kentucky will have a new weapon, in the form of data, to fight infections acquired in hospitals and other health-care facilities, with legislative approval of a regulation that changes...
- Kentucky Hospitals Disagree On How To Battle Mrsa, An Antibiotic-resistant And Highly Contagious Bacteria That Plagues Them
Hospitals agree that precautions must be taken to fight the potentially deadly super bug MRSA, but they differ in their approaches, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal. Swab kits are used to screen for MRSA. (Photo: Matt Stone, C-J)Ungar focuses...
- Kentucky Second Highest In Antibiotic Consumption In U.s.
The next time you ask your doctor for an antibiotic, or if he or she offers to give you one, think again. It might do your health no good, but could be bad for public health. "Every time an antibiotic is used ... future effectiveness of that drug is diminished,"...
- How To Reduce Your Chance Of Aquiring A Staph Infection
In the news today, a new scientific report suggests that swimmers using public ocean beaches increase their risk for exposure to staph bacteria and potential infections. Staph infections are a growing public health concern. You acquire a staph infection...