Buzzing off

to implement testing for MRSA amongst all farm animals. The association say the bacteria are widespread in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. In the Netherlands 39 per cent of pigs tested positive for the bacteria strain that can be passed to humans. And 13 per cent of calves carried a different strain from that found in hospitals. These studies also found that 50 per cent of farmers were also positive, some of whom have been resistant to antibiotics. Major problems are encountered for a growing number of pathogens including S. aureus, Clostridium difficile, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumanni, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The report cites the recent conclusions of the WHO. " Today we are witnessing the emergence of drug resistance along with a decline in the discovery of new antibacterials… As a result we are facing the possibility of a future without effective antibiotics. This would fundamentally change the way modern medicine is practised. " Some important changes have been made in some countries, for example in improving surveillance and infection control systems, the report says. But " the requirement to develop new therapeutic agents and vaccines remains urgent ". The report concludes that there is also a need to develop rapid diagnostics using standardised methodologies that are sensitive, simple and cheap to use at the point of care. These should be able " rapidly to differentiate between bacterial and viral infections, to identify specific pathogens and resistance profiles. " The report authors are also keen to see more support for industry in developing new drugs. The " generation of new antibiotics is a lengthy, expensive and complex process, " they write. " It is important to address the current impediments to innovation for both large pharmaceutical and smaller biotechnology companies, by facilitating public-private partnerships, " they say. The presence of white fluff on the bark of Greece's pine trees is an indication of the hidden presence of the scale insect, Marchalina hellenica, feeding on sap within bark crevices. The white fluff is a secretion from the scale insects to protect its egg masses. Until recently it was a rare and localised sight. Despite its name, the scale insect is not thought to be truly native to Greece, being introduced in either Roman or Byzantine times from further east. It appeared to pose little threat to the trees, occurring only in small local populations and kept in check by …