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11
Dec 2018
Tests reveal some superbugs thought to be antibiotic-resistant can be treated
Laboratory trials have concluded that some superbugs which were thought to be unresponsive to antibiotics may be resilient. However, researchers are now hopeful that they can test to identify the infections that initially respond to the drugs, but eventually regain power, allowing doctors to target the bug at its weakest point.
There is a global concern that antibiotics have been prescribed unnecessarily for decades, allowing once harmless bacteria to develop into superdrugs, and the World Health Organisation have warned that if nothing is done, the world is heading towards a ‘post-antibiotic’ era.
Prior to these recent tests, the differences between resistant and resilient superbugs has not been shown before and the findings have been branded as ‘extremely important’.
Study author, Professor Lingchong You of Duke University in North Carolina, said “We’re still in a stage where doctors don’t do a detailed diagnosis of what specific infection a patient is suffering from.
“They just prescribe these antibiotics because they’ll probably work after two weeks. And if they don’t they’ll just try a different one.
“But I think as these beta-lactam-resistant strains continue to spread around the world and become more common, our diagnoses will have to catch up so we can provide more tailored dosing protocols.”
Recent figures estimate that around ten million people worldwide will be killed by superbugs by the year 2050, with many patients succumbing to once harmless bugs.
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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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