This paper analyses how research on antibiotic resistance has been a driving force in the development of new antibiotics. Drug resistance, while being a problem for physicians and patients, offers attractive perspectives for those who research and develop new medicines. It imposes limits on the usability of older medicines and simultaneously modifies pathologies in a way that opens markets for new treatments. Studying resistance can thus be an important part of developing and marketing antibiotics.

The chosen example is that of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer. Before World War Two, Bayer had pioneered the development of anti-infective chemotherapy, sulpha drugs in particular, but had missed the boat when it came to fungal antibiotics. Exacerbated by the effects of war, Bayer’s world market presence, which had been considerable prior to the war, had plummeted. In this critical situation, the company opted for a development strategy that tried to capitalise on the problems created by the use of first-generation antibiotics. Part and parcel of this strategy was monitoring what can be called the structural change of infectious disease. In practice, this meant to focus on pathologies resulting from resistance and hospital infections. In addition, Bayer also focused on lifestyle pathologies such as athlete’s foot. This paper will follow drug development and marketing at Bayer from 1945 to about 1980. In this period, Bayer managed to regain some of its previous standing in markets but could not escape from the overall crisis of anti-infective drug development from the 1970s on.

The population structure of Staphylococcus aureus is changing globally but the situation regarding dominant clones in sub-Saharan Africa is not clear. We therefore assessed changes in the population structure of clinical S. aureus isolates obtained in 2007 (n = 75) and 2012 (n = 75) from Northeastern Nigeria. A reduction in resistance to penicillin, gentamicin, erythromycin and clindamycin was observed in 2012. A decrease of methicillin resistance rates (13·3% to 8·0%) was associated with the decline of the ST241 MRSA clone. The proportion of Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-positive isolates also decreased from 65·3% to 44%, and was linked with the emergence of PVL-negative ST601 clone in 2012. The significant decline in antibiotic resistance in the study area is in contrast to the worldwide trend of increasing resistance rates.

Community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus infections are a public health concern, yet little is known about infections that do not present to hospital. We identified community-onset S. aureus infections via specimens submitted to a community-based pathology service. Referring doctors confirmed eligibility and described infection site, severity and treatment. Isolates were characterized on antibiotic resistance, PFGE, MLST/SCCmec, and Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL), representing 106 community-onset infections; 34 non-multiresistant methicillin-resistant S. aureus (nmMRSA) (resistant to <3 non-β-lactam antibiotics), 15 multiply antibiotic-resistant MRSA (mMRSA) and 57 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA). Most (93%) were skin and soft tissue infections. PVL genes were carried by 42% of nmMRSA isolates [95% confidence interval (CI) 26–61] and 15% of MSSA (95% CI 8–28). PVL was associated with infections of the trunk, head or neck (56·4% vs. 24·3%, P = 0·005) in younger patients (23 vs. 52 years, P < 0·001), and with boils or abscesses (OR 8·67, 95% CI 2·9–26·2), suggesting underlying differences in exposure and/or pathogenesis.

Suppurative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin infections are common and associated with MRSA colonization, but little is known about non-suppurative cellulitis and its relationship with MRSA colonization in areas endemic for community-associated MRSA. We prospectively enrolled patients hospitalized for non-suppurative cellulitis (n=50) and matched controls (n=100) and found S. aureus colonization was similar in cases and controls (30% vs. 25%, P=0·95). MRSA was uncommon in cases (6%) and controls (3%) (P=0·39). All MRSA isolates were USA300 by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Independent risk factors for non-suppurative cellulitis were diabetes (OR 3·5, 95% CI 1·4–8·9, P=0·01) and homelessness in the previous year (OR 6·4, 95% CI 1·9–20·9, P=0·002). These findings suggest that MRSA may only rarely be causative of non-suppurative cellulitis.

Orbital cellulitis and abscess are known complications of ethmoiditis in children, but they are very rare in the newborn. The authors report a case of orbital abscess caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a four-week-old neonate born four weeks prematurely.

Anaesthetic agents have been implicated in the development of postoperative pneumonia, but the direct effect of volatile anaesthetics on bacterial growth has given contradictory results. The effects of isoflurane on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were investigated under conditions similar to those of clinical practice, using standardized microbiological methods. An open anaesthetic circuit was adjusted to the normal ventilatory settings of an adult patient. A spray, installed on the inspiratory side of the circuit, ensured the delivery of isoflurane at 1.5 minimal alveolar concentration. The bacterial strains studied were both wild-type and reference strains. Bacterial inoculums were prepared to obtain a bacterial exponential growth of 103 colony-forming units per mL in 10mL of nutritive broth. Each strain was studied with and without exposure to isoflurane and measured by the usual criteria of bacterial growth, and by bacterial regrowth after exposure to isoflurane. Under experimental conditions close to clinical practice, exposure to isoflurane did not alter bacterial growth of S aureus and E. coli, or their bacterial regrowth when isoflurane exposure is over.