Research round-up
An international group of researchers known as the Traditional Medicine Group has drawn on folk medicine to identify antibiotic-producing species in Northern Irish soil. The discovery could lead to new varieties of antibiotics, which are crucial in the fight against increasing resistance.
It’s predicted that antibiotic-resistant superbugs could kill up to 1.3 million people in Europe by 2050. The World Health Organization describes the problem as ‘one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development today’. The team, which included scientists from Swansea University, Brazil and Northern Ireland, focused its research on the West Fermanagh scarplands, an area of caves, alkaline grassland and bog where soil has long been used in ancient folk medicine and which is home to many remnants of Neolithic habitation. Several years ago, an analysis of the soil in this region carried out by the same team led to the discovery of a previously unknown strain of bacteria effective against four of the top six antibiotic-resistant hospital superbugs, including MRSA. This latest expedition led to the discovery of an even wider range of antimicrobial activity.
‘The fact that traditional medicine is incorporated in many local folk tales led us to believe that there was a good possibility of finding strong antibiotic-producing organisms in other locations in these limestone hills,’ said Dr Paul Facey from Swansea University, one of the lead researchers.
Team member Hamid Bakshi added: ‘We are confident in the great potential of our most recent discovery to provide many interesting discoveries.’