The land and grass of Ireland is the antidote for four antibiotic-resistant superbugs



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"Our results show that it is interesting to study folklore and traditional medicines in search of new antibiotics," said Professor Paul Dyson of the Swansea University School of Medicine, in Wales, United Kingdom. a scientific approach that seeks in the ancestors answers to the problems of the present.

It is because an unknown strain of a bacterium found in Irish soil has been shown to be effective against four of the six major antibiotic resistant superorganisms.

According to recent research, antibiotic – resistant superbugs could kill up to 1.3 million people in Europe by 2050. For the World Health Organization, they represent "the only one in the world. one of the greatest threats to health, food security and current development ". .

The new strain of bacteria, named Streptomyces sp. Myrophorea was discovered by a team of researchers from Wales, Brazil, Iraq, and Northern Ireland. The work was published in Frontiers in Microbiology.

The promise of ethnopharmacology

The badyzed soil comes from an area of ​​Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, known as "Boho Highlands". It is an area of ​​"alkaline" pastures and it has always been said that it has healing properties.

The search for new antibiotics to combat multiple resistance has led researchers to explore new sources, including popular medicines: a field of study called ethnopharmacology. They also focus on environments in which you can find known producers of antibiotics such as Streptomyces.

A country with healing properties

A member of the research team, Gerry Quinn, a former resident of Boho, in the town of Fermanagh, knew the healing traditions of the area for many years. Traditionally, a small amount of dirt was wrapped in a cotton cloth and was used to treat many ailments, such as toothache, throat and neck infections. It is interesting to note that this area was formerly occupied by the Druids, about 1500 years ago, and by the Neolithic, 4000 years ago.

"The main findings of the research are that the newly identified strain of Streptomyces inhibits the growth of four of the six major multidrug-resistant pathogens identified by the WHO as responsible for infections badociated with medical care: Enterococcus faecium (ERV ) resistant to vancomycin, vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Klebsiella pneumonia and resistant to Carenepenem Acinetobacter baumanii ", said the experts.

The mysteries to solve

It is not yet known which component of the new strain prevents the growth of pathogens, but the team is already studying this possibility.

Dyson concluded, "Our discovery is an important step forward in the fight against antibiotic resistance." Traditional drugs need to be studied, and scientists, historians and archaeologists could contribute to this task. the wisdom of the past. "

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