Let us keep you informed via our e mail news update. Click here for more information. Check the latest news now at our headline page. Discuss MRSA using the comments link at foot of stories). Discover our MRSA Watch book of the month - Visit our bookstore. We have 2,800+ stories - see list below or categories in side columns.
Link: Coventry Observer.
Mr Bennett, a retired lorry driver who was born and brought up in Holmsdale Road, Foleshill, and later lived at Burnaby Road, Holbrooks, studied medical reference books and started experimenting with different ingredients until he came up with a formula which became the forerunner to the world’s first anti-MRSA cream. The difference between his product and alcohol-based lotions currently used on hospital wards is that it keeps on working hours after application, even after hand washing. It contains a barrier cream, a strong anti-bacterial agent and water repellent silicon. His concoction cleared his wife Heather’s skin condition by killing the bacteria and acting as a 'glove' to keep the skin waterproof. When Mr Bennett heard about the increasing cases of MRSA infecting patients in hospitals, he thought his lotion could give similar protection. He took his idea to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital where it was developed, and then found investors to help market it. An appearance on Channel Four's popular Richard & Judy Show followed - and demand for Mr Bennett’s cream went through the roof. Minutes after going on air his website crashed after orders totalling £50,000 were received.
Link: BBC NEWS
Some controversy about this one! Seems it may now be being promoted as a barrier cream and its actions against MRSA are being downplayed. Click the link for the whole article.
A home-made hand lotion which has proved effective in combating the potentially fatal MRSA superbug goes on sale in Asda supermarkets on Friday. Retired lorry driver Brian Bennett, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, originally developed the product to treat his wife's dermatitis. In trials at a Birmingham hospital it successfully killed the bacteria responsible for MRSA. He is now seeking approval for it to be used by the National Health Service.
Link: icCoventry
Clinical trials are set to begin on a barrier cream developed by a Nuneaton truck driver which could combat the hospital super-bug MRSA. Brian Bennett, aged 65, is celebrating after health secretary John Reid and the then Nuneaton MP Bill Olner helped to cut through red tape holding up widespread clinical trials in British hospitals. Mr Bennett, who lives in The Long Shoot, Nuneaton, came up with the wonder formula in an attempt to beat his wife Heather's dermatitis. He had been frustrated by delays to the testing process caused by bureaucracy but a meeting with John Reid and Bill Olner has moved things along. From April 30, the cream will be available in every Asda store in the country, and Mr Bennett will be at the Nuneaton store, with his wife, to meet people and demonstrate the product. He said: "With the help of Bill Olner and John Reid the walls have come down. All of a sudden the contracts that we have been waiting for for months have gone through and now we can get the clinical trials up and running."
Link: icCoventry
Health secretary John Reid is planning to meet with a former Nuneaton truck driver who invented a “miracle cure” in his own garage to combat the hospital superbug MRSA. The wonder cream pioneered by 65-year-old Brian Bennett is set to hit the high streets next month - but red tape is still holding up widespread clinical trials in British hospitals. Mr Bennett says he is “very frustrated” at the delays and hopes the face-to-face meeting with the health secretary will lead to a breakthrough in getting nationwide trials under way. Supermarket chain Asda will stock the cream from April, but hospitals are still awaiting the go-ahead for trials. A frustrated Mr Bennett said: “There is just so much red tape and bureaucracy just to get the trials under way. These are not drug-related trials, which normally take two or three years. Trials on creams should only take six months or so.”
Link: This Is Local London: News: Local Headlines.
Tubes of disinfectant rubs which staff clip to their uniforms were promoted at Kingston Hospital on Friday as part of the battle against infections. The tubes, carried by all clinical staff, make it more convenient for them to clean their hands while working. They are also placed beside each bed and main doorway so patients and visitors can use them. Kingston Hospital has been using the hand rubs since 2001. Their introduction was cited by the hospital as one of the reasons for the dramatic reduction in cases of MRSA, which fell by a third in 2003/2004 at Kingston. Now other hospitals in the UK are to follow this example as part of a national campaign aimed at encouraging patients and their carers to challenge NHS staff to ensure they have washed their hands.
Link: icCoventry
A wonder cream invented by a former Nuneaton truck driver which could spell doom for the hospital superbug MRSA is to hit the high streets in April. Supermarket chain Asda is to stock the cream from April - and Nuneaton inventor Brian Bennett says manufacturing outlets are also being set up in France, New Zealand and Singapore. The cream is poised to make a fortune for 66-year-old Mr Bennett and his new pharmaceuticals company. It is being manufactured under the name of Hy Shield. There are two creams - Skin Plus Ultra, to combat MRSA, and Skin Plus Now, an after-care cream for treating conditions like eczema.
A short introduction from Dave Roberts
This 12 minute introduction will help you grasp the key facts and the key issues surrounding drug resistant staph aureus (mersa, mursa)
