Superbug revives alert on antibiotics | The Columbus Dispatch.
This past week, a biochemist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland shared news of his discovery of compounds that, without killing the bacteria like an antibiotic would, could render MRSA harmless. The drugs prevent the production of toxins that make people sick, and the concept has potential applications for other antibiotic-resistant bugs, said the researcher, Menachem Shoham, an associate professor at Case Western. A potential side benefit to such treatments is that they'd be unlikely to contribute to antibiotic resistance, he said. The research is in early stages and far from use in clinical applications, but it offers some hope in the quest to better fight resistant bacteria, Shoham said. In the meantime, he joins the chorus calling for careful use of antibiotics, pointing to developing countries where the medicines don't require a prescription and to the widespread agricultural use of prophylactic antibiotics as problems that need addressed. "It only takes a few months before a resistant bug travels all over the world and can become a real dangerous and nasty superbug," Shoham said.
