This Unkillable Bacteria Will Surprise You

Scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have found a bacterium named Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is highly tolerant of many antibiotics and stubborn to antibiotic therapy.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, has been listed this bacteria as a ‘Nightmare Bacteria’. This results around 400 deaths with an estimation of 51,000 healthcare-associated infections each year. The common causes of the infections are bloodstream or urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and surgical site infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection can cause death for the death of people who are living with cystic fibrosis. This bacterium also causes many other serious infections, which weakens the defense and immune system. The research team of RI-MUHC discovered a new cellular target that can weaken the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Dr. Nguyen, who is also a respirologist at the McGill University Health Centre says that "P. aeruginosa causes lifelong lung infections in individuals with cystic fibrosis, and these infections cannot be cleared, even by cocktails of the most potent antibiotics available.

P. aeruginosa bacteria is using stress signalling and defense enzyme to modify its cell membrane and making it less permeable to molecules and also preventing antibiotics from penetrating the cell. Dr. Nguyen also added that “In the run, the discovery of this promising cellular target could expand the utility of our antibiotics and make new ones more effective.”

By: Vidhi Kesarwani

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180913113846.htm