According to reports, an Argentine biochemist is in the United States to study the mechanism of resistance to all antibiotics in a “superbug”, which the World Health Organization (WHO) believes is mainly infected in hospital settings and has a high mortality rate. Science and Technology Agency (CyTA).
Researcher María Soledad Ramírez leads her lab at Cal State Fullerton, where she studies the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab), which is part of the World Health Organization’s list of critical pathogens .
During a recent visit to Buenos Aires, the researcher presented her latest work to scientists at the Foundation Leroy (FIL).
Noting that “superbugs” pose a threat to public health, Ramirez is interested in antibody bacteria “because of their enormous genetic diversity and high mortality rates when they invade the human body,” according to the CyTA agency. “.
Twenty years after research began in 2001, the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have added “Ab” to their list of critical pathogens as “superbugs” resistant to all available antibiotics.
It is a bacterium that primarily infects hospital settings, causing pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis, among other infections that can lead to death.
“His adaptability is very poor. It can remain on the counter or the surface of hospital equipment for more than 100 days. Once the antibody enters the hospital, it is almost impossible to be eradicated.” The researchers said.
Furthermore, he maintains that “bacteria have acquired a terrifying ability to evolve and are far more powerful than humans,” explaining that 15 years ago UTIs were easily treated with antibiotics, but “this is no longer the case today, and the information it provides antimicrobial spectrum to be able to determine the best way to address the problem.
According to the scientist, this loss of efficacy is partly related to the bacteria’s natural ability to adapt, but also to the overuse of antibiotics.
“When you take it without being told to do so, or stop treatment early because you’re already feeling well, or even because a doctor prescribes it ‘just in case’ or gives in to patient pressure,” he said.
Another big problem is antibiotics in livestock, which are used as growth factors or prophylactically so as not to affect production.
Although the antibody is a nosocomial bacterium with few case reports at the community level, Ramirez said it has also been linked to tropical climates, which is why he estimates climate change will affect the types of infections it causes.
“Antibiotic resistance is one of the top ten public health threats facing humanity,” he warned.
In his paper, Ramirez shared his conclusions about cefodiclox, one of the last antibiotics approved by the U.S. drug regulator, the FDA, to treat serious infections caused by “superbugs.”
“While its effectiveness is very promising, we’ve seen increased resistance,” he said.
Cefdicol, not yet available in Argentina, is a very special molecule because it is a mixture of two antibiotics of the penicillin family (beta-lactams) to which they added a compound that attracts iron (catechol) . Needed when bacteria cause an infection.
In an effort to limit and curb the health threat posed by bacterial resistance, the Argentine government last week enacted the Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention and Control Act to promote its responsible use in human and animal health.