by Laurie Kundrat | Mar 10, 2016 | Pharmaceutical
No pharmaceutical company wants to sell a non-sterile drug contaminated with objectionable microorganisms, but how does a company know which organisms are objectionable and how do they ensure their drugs do not contain them? An objectionable organism is one which can...
by Laurie Kundrat | Mar 3, 2016 | Pharmaceutical
During 2012, an outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia complex spread throughout the intensive care unit of a German hospital. The illness was traced to contaminated alcohol-free mouthwash. Though this event does not mark the first time B. cepacia complex was recovered from...
by Laurie Kundrat | Jan 28, 2016 | Clinical, Pharmaceutical
Staphylococcus epidermidis colonizes moist body surfaces such as the axillae, nares and toe webs. Normally a harmless species, S. epidermidis can cause clinical disease under the right circumstances. Predisposing factors include immunosuppression and the presence of a...
by Laurie Kundrat | Dec 28, 2015 | Clinical
Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the top causes of hospital-acquired infections. Most at risk for illness are the elderly and the chronically ill. Like an unwelcome guest, A. baumannii is difficult to remove once it moves into a health care setting. It has been...
by Laurie Kundrat | Nov 11, 2015 | Pharmaceutical
As a pharmaceutical microbiologist, you are probably no stranger to Micrococcus luteus since it is among the most commonly found organisms in pharmaceutical environmental monitoring. The strain is typically associated with human skin, particularly from the head, arms...