New Antibiotic Could Battle Hospital Infections

WEDNESDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers report that they''ve unearthed a new antibiotic that might become a potent weapon against two dangerous germs that are bedeviling hospitals.

The antibiotic, discovered in South African soil, hasn''t been tested in humans and is years away from showing up on pharmacy shelves. Still, the researchers said it has plenty of potential, especially since no other similar drugs have landed on the market since 2000.

At issue are several bacteria that have developed resistance against existing antibiotics, and are starting to creep into the community. One is a staph infection known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which can cause pneumonia in hospital settings and skin infections in the general population. Another is vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus(VRE).

"It''s just an inevitable process that eventually all these bacteria will be resistant to the compounds we have now," said study author Stephen Soisson, a senior scientist at Merck Research Laboratories. "It''s a looming global health crisis."

In their search for a new antibiotic, Soisson and his colleagues looked at 250,000 extracts from natural products, including samples of soil and leaf debris from around the world. They think they may have found what they''re looking for in a soil sample from South Africa.

The researchers tested an antibiotic derived from a substance found in the soil. They report their findings in the May 18 issue of Nature.

In mice, the antibiotic, known as platensimycin, vanquished both MRSA and VRE. Apparently, the antibiotic works by disrupting the way cells synthesize crucial fatty acids.

Frank Myers, a clinical infectious disease epidemiologist at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, said the findings about platensimycin are "very encouraging," and the drug could become another treatment option for doctors, especially those treating patients who develop MRSA-related pneumonia in hospitals. Those cases, he said, are especially hard to treat.

However, there are caveats, Myers added. Infectious disease specialists will want to know if the germs develop resistance to the new antibiotic and whether it kills healthy bacteria and contributes to a diarrheal illness.

Also, he said, doctors may be cautious about using platensimycin except in the most dire cases, to avoid creating antibiotic resistance.

More information

For more on MRSA, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: Stephen Soisson, Ph.D., senior scientist, Merck Research Laboratories Inc., Rahway, N.J.; Frank Myers, M.A., CIC, clinical infectious disease epidemiologist, Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego; May 18, 2006, Nature

Last Updated: May 17, 2006