ISLAMABAD, September 12 (Online): As an increasing number of bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, scientists are looking beyond this family of medications that has served us so well up until now.
As the usefulness of antibiotics begins to wane, there is an urgent need to develop new ways to treat infections.
A difficult nosocomial infection
Infections contracted by patients while hospitalized for other reasons are especially likely to be antibiotic resistant.
Called “nosocomial infections,” they can be very hard to cure and can be fatal. Among the most common nosocomial bacteria is Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii).
According to Venkitanarayanan, “A. baumannii is primarily a nosocomial pathogen impacting those especially with compromised immune systems, the very young, the very old, burn victims, and is also reported in the wounds of combat soldiers.”
Sneaking up on A. baumannii
Since A. baumannii is such an adaptable opponent, Venkitanarayanan and his colleagues adopted a strategy of disarming the bacteria rather than staging a full-on assault that would threaten its survival and provoke its defense mechanism.
The researchers began by determining the minimum amount of selenium required to inhibit the bacteria’s virulence.
To observe selenium’s efficacy with A. baumannii, the researchers constructed a model matrix that simulated an infected wound environment containing cultured cells and wound fluids.
They infected areas of their “wound” with A. baumannii and selenium sufficient to inhibit virulence. They infected other samples with A. baumannii alone.
The researchers examined the samples under scanning electron microscopes. They also performed DNA analysis to determine if the selenium produced any genetic changes in the bacteria.
In the selenium samples, the biofilms produced by A. baumannii were severely degraded, diffuse, and structurally unsound.
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