An abbreviated version of CDDEP's weekly digest of public health news, focusing on research in the United States.

A study in PLoS ONE describes how Listeria, a common bacterial cause of foodborne illness, exploits a cellular protein to grow.  Understanding this mechanism could inspire new approaches to anti-infective development.

In Archives of Disease in Childhood – Fetal & Neonatal, researchers examine seasonal patterns of HAIs in neonates in Canada, finding a spike in gram-negative infections during the summer months.

A study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology directly links hospital readmissions with the presence of healthcare-associated infections.

At the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Spring Meeting, Dr. Thomas Sandora highlights the differences between infection control practices in pediatric versus adult care.

In the sediment of the Tijuana River Valley, a researcher finds genes that confer antibiotic resistance.

The Center for a Livable Future blog looks at a February 2012 U.S. Food and Drug Administration study on multi-drug resistance in farmed shrimp.

The Huffington Post sums up the recent research on antibiotic residues and resistance genes in the environment and their relationship with antibiotic resistant infections in humans.

Will the Prescription Drug User Fee Act make it through the U.S. Congress with incentives for antibiotic development intact?  Politico reports on important differences between House and Senate drafts of the must-pass bill.

The Economist examines U.S. and EU efforts to create incentives for pharmaceutical companies to invest in antibiotic research.

At MIT, researchers examine how nanoparticles could be used to target the delivery of high doses of antibiotics and improve the drugs' effectiveness.  Listen to an interview with lead researcher Aleks Radovic-Moreno on New Hampshire Public Radio.

In a blog post, American Medical Association President Peter W. Carmel discusses how the AMA contributes to combating antibiotic resistance through forming partnerships, creating quality measures, and calling for incentives for new drug development.

You can sign up to receive the full weekly digest via email on the CDDEP website.

Image credit: Flickr: Stathis Stavrianos (Stathis_1980)