New antibiotic breakthrough
Anew type of antibiotic has been discovered that can kill one of the three types of bacteria (tiny living things) that doctors say are the greatest threat to human health because they cause serious diseases.
Antibiotics are medicines that fight illnesses caused by bacteria. The new one, called Zosurabalpin, has been shown to work against bacteria called Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
(CRAB for short). According to the World Health Organization, CRAB is a “priority one” (most dangerous) bacteria because it can cause serious illness – but most antibiotics can’t kill it.
CRAB bacteria have an outer shell that acts like armour. This allows the bugs to live in harsh conditions and survive attacks from medicines or human immune systems (the body’s way of protecting itself against infection). A recent study shows that this new antibiotic, Zosurabalpin, stops CRAB bacteria from building this tough shell. This means the bacteria aren’t so well protected and it becomes easier for medicines to destroy them.
It has been a long journey. Scientists searching for new antibiotics examined 45,000 small molecules (groups of atoms, the building blocks of the universe) before they found Zosurabalpin. They then tested it on six mice with lung infections caused by CRAB. The mice were given injections of the antibiotic every six hours for 24 hours. Six other mice were given another type of antibiotic that is already used to treat CRAB. The scientists then measured the number of bacteria in the mice’s lungs and found far fewer in the mice that had been given the new antibiotic. Zosurabalpin is now being tested on humans. Professor Laura Piddock, an antibiotics expert, told the BBC that it could be a long time before the medicine is available because testing things on humans takes years. However, Professor Piddock called the discovery “really exciting” and said it could perhaps be used against other bacteria.