Potential new treatment for strep may reduce antibiotic resistance
Scientists continue to develop new and more effective pharmaceutical treatments, which may one day be available through Canadian pharmacies.
Scientists continue to develop new and more effective pharmaceutical treatments, which may one day be available through Canadian pharmacies. One such therapy, developed at the University of Missouri, may help treat strep throat while reducing the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
About 700 million people worldwide develop strep throat or similar infections every year, according to the team of scientists. While antibiotics can kill harmful bacteria, some strains are unaffected by the drugs and become more aggressive and hard to treat. However, the researchers have used chemical screens to identify a class of compounds that may complement antibiotic treatment very well, which may prove useful in the context of healthcare-acquired infections.
"We know that 70 percent of bacteria causing infections in the hospital are resistant to at least one of the drugs commonly used for treatment," said lead researcher Hongmin Sun, PhD. "Rather than killing off the bacteria, this new compound changes the behavior of the bacteria and makes it less harmful."
Such an approach may reduce the incidence of healthcare acquired infections, which affect one out of every 20 individuals who are hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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