Once-common antibiotic back in action

Superbugs are a global health threat. Over the years, they have defeated doctors and antibiotics alike. Now, scientists are fighting back. Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Laurel Hollow, New York were able to revive an antibiotic called vancomycin [van-ko-mye-sin], which superbugs had previously become immune to. By pairing vancomycin with a molecule that blocks an enzyme responsible for bacterial resistance, the antibiotic gained the ability to kill drug-resistant bacteria — in this case, a bacterium that is the leading cause of infection in wounds, urinary tract infections and blood. It mostly affects people who are already sick in the hospital. Now, why do we have superbugs in the first place? When bacteria are killed by antibiotics, a small percentage survive and multiply. This creates microbes that cannot be killed by those common medicines, or superbugs. Antibiotic resistance makes common infections more dangerous and harder to treat. It can also increase the risks that come with routine surgery, cancer treatment and other procedures. It’s a serious hazard to public health. Researchers are hoping strategies like the one used at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory can be used to give formerly powerful antibiotics a new life. Vancomycin is commonly used to treat severe infections, such as MRSA [mersa] and C. diff, which cause skin infections and colon infections, respectively. These conditions range from mild to life-threatening, so having an antibiotic that works is essential. In the battle against antibiotic resistance, the discovery suggests some of medicine’s oldest drugs may still have fight left in them.