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Research find could reduce hospital infections
hospital
Bacteria resistant materials could reduce infections acquired through implanted medical devices such as intravenous tubes.
£2m funding given to study of materials that repel bacteria

Researchers who discovered a group of new materials capable of repelling bacteria have won £2 miliion of funding to learn more about their find.

University of Nottingham's Morgan Alexander, Professor of Biomedical Surfaces in the School of Pharmacy, and Paul Williams, Professor of Molecular Microbiology in the School of Life Sciences, have received a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award for their joint project to understand why bacteria have taken such a dislike to their newly found polymers.

It's thought the bacteria resistant materials could lead to a significant decrease in hospital infections acquired through implanted medical devices, such as catheters, intravenous tubes and artificial joints, reducing the number of medical complications, lowering medical costs and saving thousands of lives a year.

Bacteria are attracted to implanted medical devices where they attach as single cells and grow as microcolonies where the bugs can hide to avoid detection and are protected from attack by the body’s own immune defences and antibiotics.

The Wellcome Trust research award will fund a centre of excellence that will study the underlying mechanisms behind the resistance the polymers show to bacterial attachment.

Professor Williams said: “Bacteria are highly adaptable micro-organisms and we need to discover the genetic basis of how they sense and respond to chemically distinct polymer surfaces. By combining our expertise in materials science and microbiology we are taking an interdisciplinary approach to solving a major medical problem.”

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
New guidance for antibiotic use in rabbits

New best practice guidance on the responsible use of antibiotics in rabbits has been published by the BSAVA in collaboration with the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWA&F).

The guidance is free and has been produced to help veterinary practitioners select the most appropriate antibiotic for rabbits. It covers active substance, dose and route of administration all of which are crucial factors when treating rabbits owing to the risk of enterotoxaemia.

For more information and to access the guide, visit the BSAVALibrary.