Posted on 11/06/2014 9:51:14 AM PST by Citizen Zed
WHO statistics show that 50,000 people die in Europe and America die of multi-drug resistant bacteria a year.
The drug, an endolysin called Staphefekt, has been found to kill the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus in its normal and drug resistant-forms (MRSA). It has already been used in creams to treat 10,000 people with skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis, with a satisfaction rate of 80%.
Now, scientists say it can also be used in the medical world to treat a super-resistant strain of bacteria. When tested on a sample of patients in the laboratory, the drug was found to completely eradicate the bacteria from infections without leading to resistance and leaving other beneficial bacteria unaffected.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
The link doesn’t work for me.
The REAL superbug is sin and the ONLY alternative that can save us from that and the Apocalypse is our Lord Jesus Christ by whom is the forgiveness of all of our sins by grace due to his perfect sacrifice on the cross.
If it works on the worst drug-resistant infections, then it should be reserved for that use, and not used on dermatitis, excema, or acne.
This is exactly how each new wonder drug, like tetracycline, has lost its effectiveness.
Sorry to sound heartless, but it’s the nature of bacteria to mutate, thus making each new wonder drug ineffective with overuse.
No, I do not have a link to the research, just observant.
Thinking about cellulitis, a difficult infective condition. I wonder if that comes into view with this type of antibiotic —
Russians have used phage therapy (setting a specific virus against a specific bacteria) for some time now:
http://www.nature.com/news/phage-therapy-gets-revitalized-1.15348
I would normally agree with you, but after reading this article, I am hopeful that it may be an end-around the problem with antibiotics.
From the article:
***The drug is based on a naturally occurring enzyme produced by microorganisms in the body, known as bacteriophages, that specifically target and kill bacteria. Bacteriophages do this by cutting through the bacteria cell wall, killing it in the process.
Unlike antibiotics, which reach inside the cell to work, Staphefekt targets a specific region of the cell wall that is less susceptible to mutation, significantly reducing the likelihood of resistant strains developing. Dr Bjorn Herpers, a clinical microbiologist who tested the drug at the Public Health Laboratory in Kennemerland, told Newsweek: We have tried to induce resistance in clinical strains. What we see happening is resistance developing in the antibiotics, but not the drug.
Furthermore, because the drug targets more than one part of the bacteria cell wall, in order for resistance to occur, there would have to be many very unlikely changes occurring at the same time, Herpers said.***
That is a wonderful development!
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