By: Diana Barnes-Brown for Wounds1
When news of “flesh-eating” bacteria hit newspapers several years ago, the public emitted a collective gasp of disgust and worry. Every cut and scratch suddenly seemed like a potentially-deadly liability. While actual occurrences of flesh-eating (or necrotizing fasciitis) infections, which are caused by a particularly nasty strain of the pathogen Streptococcus, are fairly rare, they are often severe and continuously puzzling to caregivers.
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Tips to Keep Bacteria at Bay:
Wash your hands often, using soap and water for 15 seconds at minimum. You should wash your hands:
before touching or eating food
after handling money
after using a tissue or coughing into hands
after taking out the trash
after changing a diaper
after playing with a pet
You can also protect your immune health with:
Good nutrition
Exercise
Other healthy habits, like moderate alcohol use, good sleep and refraining from smoking.
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But fortunately, new research from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has revealed the chemical mechanism that allows the bacteria to bypass the immune system and begin its troubling work.
Using a molecular genetic approach, which involves removing or manipulating genes until a desired effect is achieved, the researchers examined the function of a specific enzyme present in highly-dangerous strains of Strep. They studied the effects of normal and genetically engineered Strep bacteria on neutrophils, specialized white blood cells which are central to the immune defense of the body.Neutrophils work by releasing chemical “nets” of genetic material and toxins that trap and kill unwanted visitors in the body. But the most dangerous and infectious strains of Strep are equipped with their own artillery: an enzyme that breaks down neutrophils’ nets, allowing many of the bacteria to escape and spread rapidly.
When the researchers, led by John Buchanan, Ph.D., genetically “edited out” this enzyme, the Strep bacteria lost their effectiveness in mice and failed to spread like their untouched bacteria counter parts.
In early trials, mice infected with highly pathogenic Strep bacteria were treated with chemical inhibitors that targeted the enzyme, and dramatic results occurred: bacteria counts were significantly lower after inhibitor treatment than in the mice in the control group.
If the findings hold true in humans, scientists may be able to create effective treatments for life-threatening Strep infections by engineering compounds that can render the damaging enzyme inert without harming their human hosts.
The original study appears in a recent issue of Current Biology, and was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
