Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been fighting a real war against science. They’re getting pushed back, but they’re not beaten. They kill tens of thousands of people in the US alone.
New findings by Caltech have created a whole new approach. To antibacterial warfare.
It’s been known for decades that viruses attack bacteria very efficiently. It wasn’t clear how the viruses managed to penetrate the bacteria. Caltech discovered that several unrelated viruses, meaning that they have different genomes, use the same basic method.
It’s a kill switch to neutralize the MurJ protein, which builds bacterial cell walls. They block the protein function, causing cell death. This is done by physically blocking cell wall formation.
Some antibiotics act in a similar way, but this level of targeting is obviously extremely useful and comes without the resistance issues. The recent study published in Nature (subscription required) spells out the research findings.
This is extremely good news for the much-too-embattled health sector. If the statistics regarding deaths are quite bad enough, there are many far less obvious issues. The overall global situation regarding antibiotic-resistant bacteria is truly appalling, according to the WHO.
For example:
The prophecies of an antibiotic Apocalypse have almost come true. “Almost” because it could get worse. Despite decades of warnings, the inundation of antibiotics has produced its predicted multi-strain Godzillas faithfully.
All resistant bacteria are high-maintenance without exception. They are also all very dangerous. Prolonged care and treatment are extremely demanding on everyone involved and require production of ever more exotic expensive drugs.
Bacterial adaptation is incredibly fast, and science has to chase the adaptations. You find out they’re resistant only after they’ve become resistant. It’s happening on an almost routine basis. That could mean a common bug might become a monster in the off-season.
The health sector itself is extremely unwell, particularly in the US. “Management sclerosis” and “for-profit neuropathy,” a particularly flat-footed and utterly useless condition, haven’t helped. Politically and corporate-driven, imbecilic policies against global science aren’t exactly achieving miracles, either.
Nobody really knows how much damage these superbugs can do. Do they cause sterility? Could they become capable of infecting multiple vectors? We have been seeing very fast development of resistance in murderous bugs like tuberculosis. What if it becomes more contagious and more virulent?
There’s no sane basis for the sort of expensive apathy we see in large-scale epidemiological risk factors. Future disasters may not be as manageable as the pandemic.
This science can’t wait. Nor can the world.
Politics has no role in science. Facts don’t take sides, and they don’t have ideologies.
Well done, Caltech. This research may be the lifeline the world needs.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
