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Sunday 18 June 2006
How hospital bug can evade attack
Scientists have decoded the genetic make-up of a bacterium responsible for many hospital-acquired infections - and shown why it is so difficult to tackle.
Clostridium difficile caused more than 44,000 infections in the UK in 2004 - mostly among the elderly.
Researchers found it can chop and change its genetic structure very easily - maximising its ability to neutralise attack by antibiotics.
The Sanger Institute study is published in Nature Genetics.The researchers hope their work will aid the search for new treatments, vaccines, and diagnostic tests.
The emergence of bacteria resistant to many of the leading antibiotics is a major problem facing healthcare providers worldwide.
C. difficile is a particular problem, because it can only be treated with two antibiotics, metronidazole and vancomycin - and there is concern that these will also soon become ineffective.