MRSA is an antibiotic resistant superbug that causes 120,000 deaths annually.
A research collaboration between scientists at University College Dublin (UCD) and the University of Sheffield has led to a massive discovery regarding the superbug MRSA, opening up potential new ways to control the infectious disease.
The methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) superbug is notoriously resistant to antibiotic treatments and causes 120,000 deaths each year. The new findings, which were just published in the journal Science, could allow scientists to make breakthroughs in controlling MRSA.
The study, which was funded by Wellcome and UKRI, shows that MRSA has a double defense mechanism against antibiotics. Not only has the superbug developed a new cell wall enzyme that allows it to survive exposure to antibiotics, it has also evolved an alternative division mechanism that allows it to replicate in the presence of antibiotics.
“This discovery is important because it helps us to understand how bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment,” explained Dr Rebecca Corrigan, who is an assistant professor at UCD’s School of Medicine and co-author of the study.
“It is only through understanding this that we can develop new ways to treat MRSA infections in our efforts to tackle the antimicrobial resistance crisis,” she said.
Prof Jamie Hobbs from the University of Sheffield’s School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences said this research serves as a “fantastic example” of how physics and biology can be brought together “to understand the pressing societal challenge of antimicrobial resistance”.
“Our research demonstrates the power of an interdisciplinary approach to address the basic mechanisms supporting the physics of life which are of such importance to healthcare.”
The next step for the research team is to determine how MRSA can grow and divide in the presence of antibiotics using the mechanism that has been discovered.
Antibiotic resistance is a major health concern worldwide, with overuse and incorrect use of antibiotics a leading cause of bug resistance. The EU has a target to reduce consumption of antibiotics by 20pc by 2030.
The Irish Times reported that antibiotic use in Ireland continued to rise last year despite this concern, though superbug infections have reduced. And earlier this year, researchers found a new species of bacteria resistance to antibiotics in University Hospital Limerick.
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