Scientists hail new antibiotic that can kill drug-resistant bacteria

[Retro]

Antibiotic resistant bacteria have been on the rise for decades* where we're now at the point that sometimes an infection cannot be treated, effectively taking hospitals back to the Victorian age, with the result that the patient suffers greatly and can even die. It's a massive problem that seems to have low awareness among the public, so this breakthrough is incredibly important.

Zosurabalpin has defeated strains of pneumonia and sepsis in mice, raising hopes for human trials
Linda Geddes Science correspondent
Wed 3 Jan 2024 16.00 GMT
Last modified on Wed 3 Jan 2024 20.18 GMT

Scientists have discovered an entirely new class of antibiotic that appears to kill one of three bacteria considered to pose the greatest threat to human health because of their extensive drug-resistance.

Zosurabalpin defeated highly drug-resistant strains of Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (Crab) in mouse models of pneumonia and sepsis, and was being tested in human trials.

Crab is classified as a priority 1 critical pathogen by the World Health Organization, alongside two other drug-resistant forms of bacteria – Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae.

Scientists hail new antibiotic that can kill drug-resistant bacteria

Zosurabalpin has defeated strains of pneumonia and sepsis in mice, raising hopes for human trials

www.theguardian.com

*Much of it having to do with antibiotics being used improperly, such as them being sold like Smarties in some countries for anything and everything when they're not needed, which only fuels the evolution of drug resistant bacteria, causing this problem to accelerate massively. Using them against viruses for example, is really bad since they don't work on those and their use only fuels that evolution each time. Only antiviral drugs developed for specific viruses can work and even that isn't guaranteed.