'Alien'-type viruses to treat MRSA

Many of the most dangerous bacteria are carried harmlessly on the skin and inside the noses of most healthy people. It is only when a patient’s immune system is weakened by illness or when the bacteria can get inside our bodies during an operation, bypassing the surface defences provided by our skin, that the bacteria develop into their most dangerous, virulent form. Once activated, some bacteria can cause such serious infections that people may die from them. If these bacteria have also acquired multiple antibiotic resistance, like MRSA, it becomes very difficult, time consuming and expensive to treat the infection.

“We’ve also developed a device to rapidly detect MRSA on contaminated surfaces. This will allow us to screen patients before surgery to limit the chances of passing on superbug infections by positively decontaminating patients and isolating them to avoid cross-contamination”, says Janice Spencer.

“Simple and effective rapid detection of bacteria is important to limit the chance of infection occurring in the first place”, says Janice Spencer. “Patients who are carriers for MRSA can be isolated and decontaminated by using standard methods or by using immobilised bacteriophages incorporated into creams or body washes”.

The prototype bacteriophage devices for detection and decontamination have been shown to clear MRSA infected surfaces such as tiles and cotton, with the bacteriophages successfully killing 96% of the MRSA strains isolated from patients in 3 different hospitals in the UK and USA.