Eat Dirt: Why Scientists Are Turning to Soil for a Cure to Superbugs

There have been multiple reports over the last few years about humanity’s growing resistance to antibiotics – but that is not entirely accurate. It is not us; it’s the bacteria themselves which have grown resistant to the drugs. This type of evolution is normal, but the overprescribing and misuse of antibiotics has exacerbated the issue.

To help combat these “superbugs,” a microbiologist named Sean Brady is looking to the earth for help. The February issue of Nature Microbiology published a discovery by Brady and his colleagues “of a new class of antibiotic extracted from unknown microorganisms living in the soil. This class, which they call malacidins, kills several superbugs — including the dreaded methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) — without engendering resistance,” per the Washington Post.

What did the researchers do to create the new antibiotics?

You can read the full report, and see the team’s research, here – but in layman’s terms, they were searching for a gene that produces a molecule that will attack bacteria if there is calcium present (calcium-dependent antibiotics). These genes have what the Post called an “’on-off’ switch,” meaning that the genes know when to attack bacteria (if there is calcium) and when to ignore the bacteria (when there is no calcium). The researchers found a gene sequence with the “switch,” cloned it, and injected it into microbes that can be successfully replicated and grown in labs. (Most microbes cannot grow under lab conditions, generally speaking.)

Those microbes created the new class of antibiotics that the researchers named “malacidins.” They applied the antibiotic to rats infected with MRSA, and “the previously unknown molecule successfully sterilized the wounds. The bacterium didn't show signs of resistance, even after three weeks of exposure.”

A medical breakthrough with the potential to save lives

This is only the first step; human and rat cells have different ways of processing antibiotics, and the scientists need to make sure their new strain is safe for people. It is, however, an incredibly important first step, because MRSA is a highly-contagious infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that two (2) out of every 100 people carry MRSA – but the total number of people who develop an infection is not known.

Furthermore, if left untreated, a patient with MRSA can easily become septic. According to the MRSA Survivors Network, the mortality rate for MRSA patients who develop severe sepsis, or go into septic shock, falls between 20% and 50%.

MRSA is not the only superbug, either. The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, a group sponsored by the UK Department of Health, reports “that up to 50,000 lives are lost each year to antibiotic-resistant infections in Europe and the US alone. Globally, at least 700,000 die each year of drug resistance in illnesses such as bacterial infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis.” CRE bacteria – nicknamed the “nightmare bacteria” by the CDC – have been attributed to two deaths in the U.S. this year; up to 160 more people could have been exposed to the superbug because of defective medical devices. In 2015, almost half a million people in the U.S. developed C. difficile, or C. diff, infections; about 20% of those patients were nursing home residents. It was directly attributable to the deaths of 15,000 people.

It may be a while before the work being done in Sean Brady’s lab translates to a viable antibiotic – but we hope that day comes sooner, rather than later. Superbug infections pose a threat to people all over the globe. If scratching around in the dirt is a key to solving the problem, we’re happy to lend scientists our gardening tools along with our support.

Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. is a premier medical malpractice law firm serving clients throughout Maryland. To learn more about our services, please call 410-730-7737 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation.