Experts warn of ‘superbugs’ developing resistance to antibiotics

When he chose it for his study, in the early 2000s, it had not yet become one of the major threats to public health. But to biochemist María Soledad Ramírez, who was doing postdoctoral research at the UBA Faculty of Medicine at the time, Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) found it interesting because of its enormous genetic diversity and high mortality rate. human organism.

Two decades later, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) added the antibody to its list of critical pathogens and considered it a “superbug” because it was resistant to all available antibiotics. Ramirez, in his lab at Cal State Fullerton, is studying how to neutralize the deadly ability of the bacterium, which causes infections such as pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis, mainly in hospital settings. Infections that can lead to death.

“It’s terribly adaptable. It can stay on surfaces for over 100 days…such as on a counter or in hospital equipment. Once Ab is in a hospital, it’s nearly impossible to eradicate,” said Ramirez, who specified the CyTA-Leloir Agency , the agency made a powerful statement of principle on its personal website: “Never underestimate the power of germs again.”

The expert studies how antibodies adapt and how it can develop resistance to different antibiotics as a way to find new treatment alternatives for one of today’s major health problems. “Bacteria have acquired a terrifying ability to evolve, much more powerful than humans,” he said. “Just 15 years ago, urinary tract infections were easily treatable with antibiotics. This is no longer the case, and the information provided by the antibiogram is necessary to determine the best way to address this problem,” he said.

The scientist said the loss of drug efficacy was partly linked to the bacteria’s natural adaptations, but she stressed that the other reason was the overuse of antibiotics. “For example, when you take a drug without being told, or stop it early because you already feel well, or even because a doctor prescribes it ‘just in case’ or gives in to patient pressure,” he lists. Another big issue, he stressed, is the use of antibiotics in livestock, where they are used as growth factors or prophylactically so as not to affect production.

The rapid spread of multidrug-resistant and “pan-resistant” bacteria (to all antibiotics) worldwide, leading to infections that can no longer be treated, is of particular concern, according to a recent WHO report. “Antibiotic resistance is one of the top ten public health threats facing humanity,” he warned.

“We have fewer and fewer effective antibiotics, and developing new ones is very difficult. Resistance is always going to emerge; faster in some cases, slower in others, but it’s a dramatic situation. As the study People, doctors and patients, what we can do Ramirez said he used his recent visit to Buenos Aires to present his latest work to scientists at the Foundation Lerois (FIL) and There is a permanent collaboration with them; especially Rodrigo Sieira from the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Microbiology.

But the new antibiotics have not been without setbacks. 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.