ENDANGERED SPECIES' FECES COULD HELP FIGHT AGAINST DFUS

Feces from endangered animals could be the source of a potential new treatment for the infectious bacteria that cause diabetic foot ulcers, researchers from the University of Sheffield have found. Waste from animals including Guinea baboons, lemurs, and Visayan pigs has been shown to contain bacteriophages that could be used in the fight against hard-to-treat diabetic ulcers, saving the NHS an estimated £1 billion a year.

 

The Sheffield researchers discovered that naturally occurring viruses in the poo kill bacterial species that are resistant to antibiotics and are the cause of foot ulcers that result in 7,000 amputations a year. Phages, formally known as bacteriophages, are viruses that solely kill and selectively target bacteria. They are the most common biological entities in nature, and have been shown to effectively fight and destroy multi-drug resistant bacteria. Namely, when all antibiotics fail, phages often still succeed in killing the bacteria.

 

Source: MDLinx [9/25/23] via Dr. Robert Creighton

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News