Porton Down robots show that ibuprofen can combat ‘Q fever’

PORTON DOWN scientists have discovered ibuprofen is a potential breakthrough treatment for a debilitating disease afflicting soldiers and civilians.

The scientists used robot technology to screen thousands of medications to establish which was the most effective for treating Q fever.

Dozens of soldiers who served in Afghanistan fell victim to the infectious disease which can be caught from cattle, sheep and goats infected with a bacteria known as Coxiella burnetii.

In its chronic form, the infectious disease can develop into a long-lasting and even permanent illness where victims suffer prolonged and disabling fatigue, along with headaches, depression and other psychiatric symptoms.

A single inhaled organism is sufficient to cause the disease.

Epidemiological studies suggest there are 60 reported cases a year in England and Wales but Q fever has been classed, since the 1970s, as a potential hazard to troops “anywhere in the world” where animals graze near them.

Ministry of Defence scientists at Porton Down, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, began by screening more than 2,000 approved drugs to investigate what effect they might have on the bacteria.

They found that ibuprofen, a painkilller tablet commonly used for headaches and body pains, was the most effective at neutralising Coxiella burnetii and treating the disease, alongside antibiotics.

Because of the extent of the screening and cross-checking that was required, the team used an automated process which enabled the testing to be carried out at scale and at speed but with improved accuracy.

“We learned from Covid that speed is essential, so we have robots alongside scientists to speed up that process,” said Prof Tim Atkins, a senior scientist at Porton Down who was awarded an OBE for his work on Novichok, the deadly nerve agent deployed by the Russian secret service against double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury in 2018. Both survived.

Scientists have subsequently refined the teams work to establish the best concentrations and combinations of ibuprofen and antibiotics to maximise the efficacy of the treatment.

Q fever has been known to the military as a threat since the early 1950s. It is most likely to be contracted in locations where cattle, sheep and goats have been and is present in the UK as well as in war zones overseas.

Porton Down scientists see their work as part of their duty of care to the military – as well as to safeguard the wider population. Their aim is threefold, starting with work to characterise the traits of micro-organisms, such as their capacity to survive in different environments.

Second, they aim to develop systems to sense, monitor and detect them and, third, to create medical counter-measures or therapeutic interventions.

Biological and chemical materials are graded into four categories, with Level 4 the highest. That covers deadly viruses such as Ebola. Level 3 includes anthrax and the plague while Level 2 includes bacteria such as Salmonella. Level 1 denotes micro-organisms such as those found in yoghurt drinks.

Prof Atkins led the team that identified the nerve agent Novichok within days of it being deployed, thus helping public health officials in Salisbury to limit the impact on the city.

‘We learned from Covid that speed is essential, so we have robots alongside scientists in the process’