Antibiotic resistant microbes are causing worries across the medical fraternity. ‘WHO’ has already rung the alarm bell after discovering the fact that a number of antibiotics have become defunct because the microbes have developed resistance against these antibiotics. A number of common ailments like pneumonia, UTI, bloodstream infections, etc. have become difficult to treat. MDR tuberculosis has become one of the most difficult to treat. We are already aware of Chloroquine Resistant Malaria.
Today approximately 2 million Americans are getting infected with drug resistant bacteria. Of these 2 million, 23000 will eventually succumb to these infections. Overuse of antibiotics is one of the main reasons for microbes to become resistant to most antibiotics. However there is good news, scientists have unearthed a new antibiotic which is effective against most pathogens. The good thing about this antibiotic is that the chances of microbes developing resistance are very bleak. The drug has been named as Teixobactin. The drug has been discovered by researchers from Northeastern University of Boston, the University of Bonn in Germany, and NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge.
Kim Lewis, the lead Scientist at Northeastern University, Boston said, “My guess is that if resistance is going to develop against Teixobactin, it will take more than thirty-years for that to occur.”
The microbe from which this antibiotic is extracted is not grown in the lab but it is obtained from soil bacteria.
Lewis also said, “We did something very different, instead of trying to figure out what to put in a petri dish we simply grew them in their natural environment.”
The bacteria were kept in small wells of soil and 25 new antibiotics were discovered. Antibiotic, Teixobcatin was found to work on drug-resistant bacteria like MRSA, C.difficile, and tuberculosis.
Microbiologist and professor, Kim Lewis said, “The standard dogma under which we were operating that bacteria will always and rapidly develop resistance, that dogma may be incorrect.”
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