Scientists study phages that can kill the world’s leading bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii

A major risk of being hospitalized is catching a bacterial infection.

Hospitals, especially areas including intensive care units and surgical wards, are teeming with bacteria, some of which are resistant to antibiotics – they are infamously known as “superbugs”.

Superbacteria infections are difficult and expensive to treat and can often have dire consequences for the patient.

Now, new research published today in the prestigious journal Microbiology of nature discovered how to reverse antibiotic resistance in one of the most dangerous super bacteria.

The strategy involves the use of bacteriophages (also called “phages”).

“Phages are viruses, but they cannot harm humans,” said lead author of the study, Dr. Fernando Gordillo Altamirano, of the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University.

“They only kill bacteria.”

The research team studied phages that can kill the world’s leading superbacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, which is responsible for up to 20 percent of infections in intensive care units.

“We have a large panel of phages capable of killing resistant antibiotics A. baumanniiSaid Dr. Jeremy Barr, lead author of the study and group leader at the School of Biological Sciences and part of the Center to Impact AMR.

“But this superbug is smart, and in the same way it becomes resistant to antibiotics, it quickly becomes resistant to our phages,” said Dr Barr.

The study shows how the superbug becomes resistant to phage attack and in doing so, the superbug loses its resistance to antibiotics.

“A. baumannii produces a capsule, a viscous, sticky outer layer that protects it and stops the entry of antibiotics,” said Dr Gordillo Altamirano.

“Our phages use this same capsule as a port of entry to infect the bacterial cell.

“In an effort to escape the phages, A. baumannii stops producing its capsule; and that’s when we can hit him with the antibiotics he was resistant to. “

The study showed resensitization to at least seven different antibiotics.

“This greatly increases the resources to treat A. baumannii infections, ”said Dr Barr.

“We’re making this superbug a lot less scary.”

Although more research is needed before this therapeutic strategy can be applied in the clinic, the outlook is encouraging.

“Phages have had excellent effects in experiments using mice, so we are delighted to continue working on this approach,” said Dr Gordillo Altamirano.

“We show that phages and antibiotics can work very well as a team.”