Superbug map supports ‘off-the-shelf’ region-specific phage therapies
Scientists have created a global ‘superbug map’ for one of the most dangerous superbug species, Acinetobacter baumannii, which will aid the development of lifesaving bacteriophage (phage) therapies.
In a paper published in the journal Cell, an international collaboration led by scientists at the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre in Szeged, Hungary, analysed the genomes of over 15,000 cases of Acinetobacter baumannii.
The team identified the dominant bacterial strains from around the world, discovering that the ‘superbug species’ spread relatively slowly and remained dominant for approximately six years in a given country.
The breakthrough highlights the timeframe that hospitals may have to apply pre-emptively prepared bacteriophages for treatment as ‘off-the-shelf’ region-specific phage therapies that could address up to 80% of local infections.
“Phages offer a promising alternative or complementary therapy to combat the rising number of hospital-acquired antibiotic-resistant infections,” said Balint Kintses, lead author of the paper and Group Leader at the Laboratory of Translational Microbiology at HUN-REN Biological Research Centre. “By analysing how superbugs spread and dominate in hospitals, we can now prepare region-specific phage treatments in advance.”
One of the key challenges of phage therapy is that each patient requires a specific phage to treat their infection. The ‘superbug map’ enables the production of pre-emptive phage treatments based on the strains most likely to cause infections in each region.
“Our framework offers a map and a compass that could revolutionise the phage therapy market by streamlining clinical trials and boosting global collaborations. We are the first to map a global superbug to support phage therapy,” explained Balázs Papp, co-researcher and Group Leader at Lendület Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology at HUN-REN Biological Research Centre. “The ability to scale phage therapy is the key to making it a viable solution for hospitals worldwide.”
Diana Spencer, Senior Digital Content Editor, DDW