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Possible Antibiotic for MRSA Superbug
darkmeridian writes "Merck has discovered a possible treatment for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a virulent superbug resistant to many current antibiotics. The new compound, platensimycin, was found in a sample of South African soil and works by preventing the bacteria from assembling fatty acids into its cell membrane. This mechanism of action is novel among antibiotics, most of which currently block DNA assembly or protein assembly. Of course, this product still has to undergo human testing, but apparently looks promising."
South Africa isn't quite third world. It has a dual economy, which our government is doing its best to merge. Needless to say most of the pharmaceutical companies there have learnt to behave well. Some of them go out of their way to assist indigenous communities, especially if they have assisted in finding useful plants and that sort of thing. Also, finding a soil bacteria that produces any antibiotic is not so simple. You have to take thousands and thousands of soil samples and eventually, if you are lucky, you might get one sample that is kinda useful. As a South African, you can regard this as our gift to you, if you think that it is our gift. We all live in the world, South Africans benefit from antibiotics found in other countries soils, so why shouldn't you benefit from stuff found in our soils. The pharmaceuticals companies did the grunt here, so they deserve the payoff.
Not to put a monkey wrench into things, but a substantial proportion of the people reading this are colonized with Staph aureus, and depending upon what part of the world you hail from and your recent medical history, there's a good chance that it's MRSA. If you know a friendly microbiologist, get them to swab your nose. You'd be surprised.
= Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1653404 7&query_hl=6&itool=pubmed_docsum/
= Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1644711 0&query_hl=9&itool=pubmed_docsum/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd
MRSA is typically resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics, including penicillins and cephalosporins. Just because it's resistant does not mean that it's going to eat away at your flesh. Methicillin sensitive strains will do that just as happily, particularly if they produce leukocidins (eg: MRSA strain USA300).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd
Calling vancomycin a cure for MRSA is exceedingly short sighted. VRSA/VISA (the I stands for intermediate, not insensitive), is becoming increasingly common in some regions. Topical agents, such as mupirocin or chlorhexidine may help to attenuate nasal and skin carriage (groin, axilla etc), but reports of MuRSA are also beginning to surface. It's an uphill battle.
My advice? (And yes, I hold a PhD in the field). Avoid contributing to the problem. Don't suck down antibiotics every time you get the sniffles, especially if you don't have to. More importantly, if your doctor insists upon it, don't stop taking the antibiotics the moment you feel better: finish the entire course, as prescribed. Data to associate feedlot/livestock antibiotic supplements and the transmission of resistant pathogens into human populations is scant. Worry first about the factors you can control. Your children will thank you for it.