Multi-resistant bacteria: New antibiotic destroys hospital germs

Last Updated on March 4, 2024 by Joseph Gut – thasso

March 04, 2024 – People have been looking for ways to get rid of multi-resistant germs for many years. US researchers at Harvard University have developed a new antibiotic that is effective against a variety of resistant bacteria. The results were published in the journal Science. Cresomycin also kills germs that are responsible for infections in hospitals     that are difficult to treat.

The danger of multi-resistant germs

Multi-resistant germs are particularly dangerous because conventional antibiotics cannot do anything against them. For example, 400,000 to 600,000 people in Germany become infected with such pathogens every year, and 10,000 to 20,000 people die from them. Resistant bacteria are mainly caused by antibiotics that are prescribed unnecessarily or used incorrectly. If pathogens survive taking antibiotics, the likelihood that fatal resistance will develop increases.

Germs can no longer escape. This is because many classic antibiotics incapacitate bacteria by hindering the ribosomes (protein production sites that are essential for survival). However, some bacteria manage to change the structure of their ribosomes so that the drugs no longer interfere and they can multiply unhindered. The aim of the Harvard scientists was therefore to develop a means that switches off these evasive mechanisms. According to the research team, the artificially produced cresomycin achieved exactly that in laboratory studies and destroyed multi-resistant germs without causing damage to healthy cells.

Success also in animal experiments

In animal experiments, mice survived fatal blood poisoning thanks to the new antibiotic, and the drug even worked on immunocompromised animals. The first clinical studies are now planned to test the effect on humans.

For many years, people have been looking for ways to get rid of multi-resistant germs. Contact with them is usually harmless for healthy people. However, they can cause devastating damage to people with weakened immune systems because the most serious infections spread uncontrollably.

Here are a few considerations for multi-resistance:

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