Researchers are achieving far-reaching success in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria

Dreaded pathogen: Significant success in the fight against multi-drug resistant germs

The increase in antibiotic resistance is an ever greater danger to humanity. When such drugs are no longer effective, even small inflammations can become a major risk. Swiss researchers have now achieved a spectacular success in the fight against multidrug-resistant bacteria. They have discovered how to prevent infection with one of the most feared pathogens.

Dangerous increase of antibiotic resistance

The increase in antibiotic resistance is posing a growing challenge for healthcare. Only last year, an EU Commission warned of massively increasing antibiotic resistance. If the problem is not brought under control soon, according to researchers threatens a horror scenario. According to an earlier study by the Berlin Charité, there could be around 10 million deaths from multidrug-resistant germs by 2050. In recent years, more and more governments and experts have announced their intention to step up the fight against antibiotic resistance. Swiss researchers have now achieved a spectacular success in this area.

Multidrug-resistant germs pose an ever greater threat to humanity because many antibiotics are no longer effective against such bacteria. Researchers have now achieved a spectacular success in the fight against the dangerous pathogens. (Image: freshidea / fotolia.com)

One of the most feared pathogens

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most common multidrug-resistant bacteria worldwide.

If it is able to multiply excessively or even get inside the body, it can lead to dangerous blood poisoning, soft tissue infections or pneumonia - the range of infections that can cause the pathogen is wide.

Many bacterial infections are difficult to treat, because their pathogens form a large area of ​​complex, resistant dressings, a gelatinous shell, the so-called biofilm.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen of these biofilm-associated infections, which in particular on foreign bodies such as hip and knee prostheses, cardiac pacemakers and artificial heart valves form and can be treated with common antibiotics hardly.

Such infections lead to lengthy treatments, sometimes serious complications such as impaired mobility in infections of joint prostheses, high costs for the health system and can also be fatal.

Prevention of bacterial infections

Researchers from the Department of Biomedicine (DBM) at the University and University Hospital Basel (USB) and the Basel-based Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE) at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Zurich have now achieved a spectacular success.

A communication has shown that treatment has been developed to fight and even prevent extremely difficult to treat infections with MRSA.

The effectiveness of the therapy was proven in a study published in the journal "Cell".

Recognize and specifically eliminate MRSA

The team led by Martin Fussenegger, a professor at the D-BSSE and the University of Basel, has developed designer cells that detect and specifically eliminate MRSA.

This is achieved via a synthetic accelerator, which promotes the regulatable and reversible release of lysostaphin. Lysostaphin is a bacteriolytic enzyme that can decompose bacteria.

Prof. Nina Khanna, research group leader at the DBM as well as chief physician infectiology and hospital hygiene at the USB, and her team were able to prove the effectiveness of the designer cells by means of a foreign body infection model.

On the one hand, the cells were able to counteract the development of an infection with MRSA and, on the other hand, combat an existing biofilm infection. It turned out that the cells are superior to classical antibiotic therapy.

For the expert, it is clear that targeted therapies to combat infections will become increasingly important:

"Controllable and reversible release of antibacterial agents could counteract the development of antibiotic resistance," said Khanna. (Ad)