Sepsis Deaths of a Young Mother and Six-Year-Old Boy in the UK Bring Attention to the Need for Rapid, Accurate Diagnosis & Timely Intervention

By the bioMérieux Connection Editors In April of this year, Natalie Billingham was taken to the Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals by her husband, Stuart Billingham, due to flu-like symptoms and debilitating pain in her foot. According to news reports, she was examined and sent home. The next morning, her condition was much worse, so …

British Health Officials Warn of Record High Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including Resistant Strains

by the bioMérieux Connection Editors One hard-to-diagnose pathogen linked to female infertility Public health officials in the UK warned the public of exceptionally high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, including drug resistant infections. On June 5th, Public Health England (PHE) issued a warning about “a considerable growth in new diagnosis of gonorrhea and syphilis in …

The Fungus That Gave Us Camembert, and Our Lives

By the bioMérieux Connection Editors Ninety years ago, a lab error led to the discovery of a drug that has saved more human lives than any other therapeutic and ushered in the era of modern drug discovery and development. The following year, Sir Alexander Fleming published the details of his inadvertent discovery of the first …

Unusual Case of Newborn with Salmonella Revealed with Rapid Diagnostics

by the bioMérieux Connection Editors A 4-week-old infant was admitted to pediatric ICU at the Lifespan Academic Medical Center in Providence, RI. The baby had a high fever, light sensitivity, tenderness in the neck and head, and was irritable and lethargic, with nausea and no appetite. It was difficult to awaken the child from sleep. …