Vaccine Research Yields Promising Results in the Prevention of Lethal Staph Infections
Posted on November 7, 2007
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One day soon, antibiotic resistant staph infections might be preventable with a simple vaccine.
Research scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a vaccine that has been successful in blocking the onset of staph infections in laboratory mice. The promising vaccine will make it possible for the body to easily fight off staph by stopping the bacteria from becoming pathogenic. Even antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, will be avoidable.
MRSA made headlines last month when it was blamed for the death of children in Virginia, New Hampshire, Mississippi, and New York. A recent CDC report indicated that more Americans died from MRSA than HIV/AIDS in 2005, prompting a new awareness of how difficult it is to treat. A MRSA vaccine could mean circumventing antibiotic treatments that are becoming increasingly ineffective.
Here’s how the vaccine works: Staph bacteria rely on communication with each other to determine when there are enough of them present to initiate the chemical process that can cause infection. The vaccine helps to block that communication by binding with molecules released by the bacteria called autoinducers. After the vaccine puts the autoinducers out of commission, the staph bacteria are unable to communicate and cause infection.
The vaccine designed at Scripps is a major step because rather than working by killing bacteria, it simply renders them inert. This scientific advance could potentially put to rest the widespread concerns about how to limit the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. While the vaccine would not halt an existing MRSA infection, it could protect at-risk populations, such as surgical patients, from contracting the illness.
The team at Scripps, led by Professor Kim Janda, is working on additional vaccines that will be effective on the autoinducers released by other Gram-positive bacteria like listeria and strep. They are currently seeking funding to continue the testing required to bring the staph vaccine to clinical trial. Read more about their research at scripps.edu.
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