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Urinary tract infections are common and usually simple to treat. But for people who become sick enough to land in the hospital with one, an experimental antibiotic may soon offer a new treatment option -- taken by mouth instead of delivered by...

Humans and their pets tend to share a tight bond, but they may also share antibiotic-resistant bacteria, new research shows.

Even worse for humans is the fact that these bacteria may contain antibiotic-resistant genes that can make the bacteria they already have in their bodies resistant to some antibiotics, such ...

Women plagued by frequent urinary tract infections often take daily antibiotics to ward them off. But an old antibiotic alternative might work just as well, a new clinical trial finds.

Researchers found that the medication, called methenamine, was comparable to standard, low-dose antibiotics in preventing women...

As winter winds leave your skin dry, cracked and prone to cuts and bleeding, a skin expert says you should resist the urge to use antibiotic creams or ointments.

While it might seem sensible to use antibiotic topicals to combat germs and prevent infection with cuts, they can irritate your...

Hookworms -- a common parasite in animals -- have become resistant to multiple deworming drugs used to kill them, a new study finds.

Veterinarians typically use three types of drugs to kill hookworms, and all three have lost their effectiveness, researchers report.

Moreover, as more hookworms survive, they'll be a threat to people, too, according to the study.

One possible bre...

It's hard to resist those big, pleading eyes in the pet store window. But buyer beware. Pet store puppies may infect people with a bacteria for which no common antibiotic treatment exists, a new study warns.

Campylobacter jejuni (C jejuni) cannot be treated with any common antibiotics and is an increasing public health threat, according to researchers at the U.S. Center...

Here's another reason to avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics: Long-term use of these medications could increase your risk of colon cancer, researchers say.

"While in many cases antibiotic therapy is necessary and saves lives, in the event of less serious ailments that can be expected to heal anyway, caution should be exercised. Above all to prevent bacteria from developing resistance but...

Leaky sewer pipes are to blame for large amounts of human medicines getting into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water, a new study reveals.

Researchers found that tens of thousands of doses of drugs get into Chesapeake Bay in Maryland every year due to seeping sewer pipes.

"Pharmaceuticals enter freshwaters through multiple pathways, including effluent from wastewater treatment a...

An untreatable "superbug" fungus is spreading in a Washington, D.C., nursing home and two Dallas-area hospitals, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

There were 101 candida auris cases at the nursing home and 22 cases at the hospitals from January to April, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did not identify the f...

Urinary tract infections: They're the bane of millions of women, and a new study finds that many sufferers are unhappy that diagnosis and treatments are still limited for this painful condition.

One of the biggest concerns researchers found was that many women think frequent antibiotic use to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) might not be the best solution. The study also noted frustr...

Prescriptions for U.S. children fell by about one-quarter during the COVID-19 pandemic, with prescriptions for antibiotics alone plunging by more than 50%, a new study finds.

The findings are a "national picture of prescription drug dispensing to children before and during the pandemic. It will be important to monitor whether the reductions we demonstrate are temporary or sustained," said...

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is causing deadly pneumonia infections among large numbers of children in the South Asian nation of Bangladesh, a rising threat that could one day reach American shores, experts warn.

Doctors found these "superbug" bacteria in more than three of four children with a positive blood culture for bacterial pneumonia while being treated at a major Bangladesh hospi...

People who feed their dogs raw pet food may find more on the menu than they bargained for, with a new study finding it may be a source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could ultimately threaten humans.

The European analysis looked at 55 wet, frozen, dry, semi-wet and treat-version dog food samples sourced from 25 different brands. Some of the food was raw; some was not. Raw samples i...

Antibiotics may increase the risk of colon cancer, especially in younger people, U.K. researchers report.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to link antibiotic use with the growing risk of early-onset colon cancer -- a disease which has been increasing at a rate of at least 3% per year over the last two decades," said study co-author Sarah Perrott, a cancer researcher at the Unive...

While COVID-19 surged in India, so did the overuse or widespread misuse of antibiotics -- risking a future threat of drug-resistant bacteria.

Antibiotic sales soared during India's first wave of COVID, suggesting the drugs were used to treat mild and moderate cases. That runs counter to guidelines for the medications.

"Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to global p...

Antibiotics do not reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in patients with a lethal lung disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a new study finds.

"We were certainly disappointed in the results," said study co-author Dr. Imre Noth, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at UVA Health in Charlottesville, Va. "But we remain hopeful that in further downstream analyses, w...

Millions of Americans have at some point in their lives gotten a long course of antibiotics to treat a bacterial infection. But according to new recommendations from a major U.S. doctors' group, some of the most common bacterial infections can now be treated with shorter courses of the drugs.

The advice, from the American College of Physicians (ACP), says that for several types of infec...

The antibiotic cefazolin is a safe alternative to prevent infection in most surgical patients who are allergic to penicillin, according to a new study.

Cefazolin is a type of antibiotic known as a cephalosporin. It's the recommended antibiotic for most surgical procedures, but some doctors are reluctant to give it to patients with penicillin-allergies based on research from the 1960s and ...

Diphtheria could once again become a major global health problem due to vaccine and antibiotic resistance, researchers warn.

Diphtheria is a highly contagious -- and potentially deadly -- infection that can affect the nose and throat, as well as the skin.

It is caused primarily by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which make a toxin, or poison, that ca...

If you've gone to the doctor for a urinary tract infection (UTI), chances are that you've been given the wrong antibiotic or a longer-than-necessary treatment plan.

That's even more likely if you live in a rural area, researchers say.

A new study of private insurance claims data found that 47% of women were prescribed antibiotics that were outside recommended guidelines and 76% were...

Many older Americans lack knowledge about antibiotics, with some admitting to using leftover medication, a new survey reveals.

More than 2,200 adults, aged 50 to 80, were questioned. Nine out of 10 said they're cautious about using antibiotics, and nearly that number knew that overuse of the drugs can lead to them becoming ineffective, according to the University of Michigan National Poll...

Children whose mothers used antibiotics in pregnancy may have a slightly heightened risk of asthma, a new study suggests.

Experts were quick to point out the finding does not prove cause and effect, and the reasons for the antibiotic use -- rather than the drug -- might explain the link, said lead researcher Cecilie Skaarup Uldbjerg, of Aarhus University in Denmark.

"Previous studie...

Taking prescription opioid painkillers or a common class of antibiotics during pregnancy doesn't increase the risk of major birth defects, according to two new studies.

Both are often prescribed to pregnant women. Some studies have linked them with certain birth defects, but findings have been inconsistent.

These new studies -- published Feb. 10 in the BMJ -- sought to clar...

Livestock workers have an elevated risk of getting infected with dangerous, antibiotic-resistant "superbug" bacteria, a new study shows.

Researchers from Michigan State University expected that finding when studying those risks by reviewing 15 years of published literature.

They just didn't expect the risks to be as high as what their research uncovered.

"This is a bit of a...

A widely used class of antibiotics has been linked to an increased risk of a potentially fatal blood vessel condition -- even in younger, healthy people.

In a study of millions of antibiotic prescriptions made in the United States, researchers found that one class was associated with a small increase in the risk of aortic aneurysm.

The drugs -- called fluoroquinolones -- have been a...

Kids given antibiotics before their second birthday may have a heightened risk for chronic conditions like allergies and obesity, a new study suggests.

The drugs' effect on the "microbiome" -- trillions of helpful microbes living in the human body -- might play a role in a baby's future health, Mayo Clinic researchers said.

The study analyzed data from more than 14,500 childre...