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Scientists are discovering a new compound that could be the key to fighting superbugs resistant to antibiotics. Treatment is crucial because it is expected that infections caused by these bacteria kill more people than cancer by 2050. ( pixabay )
Superbugs are already a major global threat, but health experts predict that risks will worsen in the coming decades.
These bacteria, which are the most commonly used antibiotics, are potent and are expected to kill more people worldwide than cancer by 2050. Researchers are therefore trying to find a cure before this projection becomes reality.
Today, a team from the Sheffield University Lab and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory may have found a solution with the discovery of a new compound capable of killing antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
A new compound for Superbugs
In a study published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers have revealed that a new compound developed had been tested in the laboratory. During testing, he successfully killed Gram-negative bacteria resistant to antibiotics such as E. coli.
Gram-negative bacteria, known to cause infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections and blood infections, are notoriously difficult to treat because of the wall of their cells that prevents drugs from reaching the microbe. There has been no treatment for this type of bacteria in the last 50 years and no potential drug has even been in clinical trials for nearly 10 years.
This new compound, developed by Kirsty Smitten, PhD student at the University of Sheffield, may well pave the way for effective treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Jim Thomas, head of the study, professor at the chemistry department of the University of Sheffield, explained that the compound is luminescent, which means that its absorption and its effect on bacteria can be tracked at Using advanced microscope techniques.
"This breakthrough could lead to new essential treatments for life threatening super-bacteria and the growing risk posed by antimicrobial resistance," added Thomas.
Another possibility against Superbugs
The new compound of Thomas and his students might be the solution to treat superbugs, but earlier in May 2019 another group of researchers suggested another method in a study published in Nature Medicine: genetically modified viruses.
The experimental treatment has already helped a patient, 17-year-old Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway, who has helped her survive a life-threatening infection after a lung transplant.
NPR reports that doctors genetically modified a phage – known as a virus that infects bacteria – to treat a Carnell-Holdaway superbugs infection. This is the first time that this method is used successfully in a human being.
The authors and other experts point out that it is difficult to draw conclusions from a single case. However, it is important to explore all possible solutions against super-drugs, particularly following the overwhelming review of AMR that predicts infections caused by antibiotic-resistant super-bacteria, which could kill 10 millions more people every year by 2050.
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