Fantastic – The 8th Edition of Mandell’s is Here!

It has grown with each edition, in page numbers, in weight, in numbers of contributors, diseases and pathogens described, and in complexity, with online access and search capabilities. More than most other therapeutic areas, the science of ID has grown in the past decades, thanks to advances in genetics, diagnostics Continue reading Fantastic – The 8th Edition of Mandell’s is Here!

The Futile Quest of Proofing a Negative in the Presence of Overwhelming Absence of Harm

The cartilage damage caused by fluoroquinolones in juvenile beagle dogs is not subtle:  blister formation and erosions occur in a dose-dependent fashion resulting in reversible cartilage damage.  These lesions can be seen not just histologically but even macroscopically.  The animals are unable to walk as weight-bearing joints are predominantly affected.  Continue reading The Futile Quest of Proofing a Negative in the Presence of Overwhelming Absence of Harm

Learning from Set-Backs: The Frustrating Search for a Staphylococcal Vaccine

Several reasons have been proposed as explanations why so many S. aureus vaccines have failed in clinical trials.  Clearly, the organism has a battery of virulence factors which may require a multipronged approach and neutralizing just a single mechanism with a specific mAb may not suffice.