Launched in 1996, NARMS is a U. S. public health surveillance system that tracks antimicrobial susceptibility of select foodborne enteric bacteria. We hear a lot about the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance in human health, but it turns out this is just the most visible place it appears as it moves through our complex modern environment. For example, when intensive farming is used to feed large urban populations, antibiotic resistance can first emerge on farms and gain access to human communities through the food system. One of the key groups on the front lines of monitoring antibiotic resistance from farm…
Harm van Bakel When MRSA hits your hospital, what do you do? If you’re located in Europe or other places where infection rates are still relatively low, you can take a seek-and-destroy approach, isolating an affected patient and working out in concentric circles to identify contacts and potential transmissions. If you’re in New York City, however, the strategy is not so simple. Hospital-associated infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus are endemic in the Big Apple, and this has required a fresh approach to treat and prevent the costly bacterial menace. At Mount Sinai Hospital, the strategy now involves SMRT Sequencing. Established…
Mark Webber We’re pleased to announce the winner of the 2018 Microbial Genomics SMRT Grant. Mark Webber, Research Leader at Quadram Institute Bioscience in the UK, will get free SMRT Sequencing and analysis from our certified service provider, the Genomics Resource Center at the University of Maryland. His goal is to further a project designed to understand how bacteria on the skin of premature babies in neonatal intensive care units acquire resistance to the antiseptics used to prevent infections. We spoke with Mark to learn more about his work and how the SMRT Grant will make a difference. Q:…