Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/10/news-scan-oct-30-2013
News Scan for Oct 30, 2013
Missed polio vaccinations in Pakistan; Drug resistance in pharma wastewater
Filed Under:
Polio; Antimicrobial Resistance
UNICEF: Militants caused 350,000 Pakistani kids to miss polio vaccine
At least 350,000 Pakistani children could not be given a polio vaccine because of opposition from militant groups during a national immunization campaign in September, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) officials told The News International, a Pakistani newspaper.
UNICEF data showed that 664,000 children were not vaccinated during the drive, about 309,000 of them because they were not home when vaccinators visited. Most of the rest missed the immunization because of bans and threats by militants, mainly the Taliban, the story said.
It said 290,000 children in North and South Waziristan have gone unvaccinated since a ban was imposed there in July 2012 by Taliban-linked groups. About 65,000 children missed the immunization because their parents refused it. That includes more than 16,000 refusals in Karachi, where the Taliban influence has grown, according to an expert quoted in the story.
UNICEF has counted 53 polio cases in Pakistan so far this year, according to the story. It said 22 people?17 health workers and 5 security personnel?have been killed in 27 attacks on vaccination teams.
Oct 30 News International story
Study finds much drug resistance in effluent from pharma plants
Researchers studying wastewater from pharmaceutical plants in India found that 86% of bacterial strains they tested were resistant to at least 20 antibiotics, with one strain resistant to 36, according to a study yesterday in PLoS One.
The team in 2007 collected samples from a wastewater treatment plant near Hyderabad, India, that receives effluent from 90 regional bulk drug manufacturers. They identified 93 different bacterial strains and tested them against 39 antibiotics from 12 different classes.
They found that 86% of the strains were resistant to 20 or more antibiotics.
"Although there were no classically-recognized human pathogens among the 93 isolated strains," they wrote, "opportunistic pathogens such as Ochrobactrum intermedium, Providencia rettgeri, vancomycin resistant Enterococci (VRE), Aerococcus sp. and Citrobacter freundii were found to be highly resistant.
"One of the O intermedium strains (ER1) was resistant to 36 antibiotics, while P rettgeri (OSR3) was resistant to 35 antibiotics."
The investigators said their study "provides insight into the mechanisms behind and the extent of multi-drug resistance among bacteria living under an extreme antibiotic selection pressure."
Oct 28 PLoS One study
News Scan for Oct 30, 2013
Missed polio vaccinations in Pakistan; Drug resistance in pharma wastewater
Filed Under:
Polio; Antimicrobial Resistance
UNICEF: Militants caused 350,000 Pakistani kids to miss polio vaccine
At least 350,000 Pakistani children could not be given a polio vaccine because of opposition from militant groups during a national immunization campaign in September, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) officials told The News International, a Pakistani newspaper.
UNICEF data showed that 664,000 children were not vaccinated during the drive, about 309,000 of them because they were not home when vaccinators visited. Most of the rest missed the immunization because of bans and threats by militants, mainly the Taliban, the story said.
It said 290,000 children in North and South Waziristan have gone unvaccinated since a ban was imposed there in July 2012 by Taliban-linked groups. About 65,000 children missed the immunization because their parents refused it. That includes more than 16,000 refusals in Karachi, where the Taliban influence has grown, according to an expert quoted in the story.
UNICEF has counted 53 polio cases in Pakistan so far this year, according to the story. It said 22 people?17 health workers and 5 security personnel?have been killed in 27 attacks on vaccination teams.
Oct 30 News International story
Study finds much drug resistance in effluent from pharma plants
Researchers studying wastewater from pharmaceutical plants in India found that 86% of bacterial strains they tested were resistant to at least 20 antibiotics, with one strain resistant to 36, according to a study yesterday in PLoS One.
The team in 2007 collected samples from a wastewater treatment plant near Hyderabad, India, that receives effluent from 90 regional bulk drug manufacturers. They identified 93 different bacterial strains and tested them against 39 antibiotics from 12 different classes.
They found that 86% of the strains were resistant to 20 or more antibiotics.
"Although there were no classically-recognized human pathogens among the 93 isolated strains," they wrote, "opportunistic pathogens such as Ochrobactrum intermedium, Providencia rettgeri, vancomycin resistant Enterococci (VRE), Aerococcus sp. and Citrobacter freundii were found to be highly resistant.
"One of the O intermedium strains (ER1) was resistant to 36 antibiotics, while P rettgeri (OSR3) was resistant to 35 antibiotics."
The investigators said their study "provides insight into the mechanisms behind and the extent of multi-drug resistance among bacteria living under an extreme antibiotic selection pressure."
Oct 28 PLoS One study