Maggots Can Help Fight Deadly MRSA

In a breakthrough research, British scientists said Tuesday that maggots can provide doctors with a powerful new drug against deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Scientists at Swansea University in South Wales said they’ve developed an antibioticdefine from maggots that can tackle different kinds of bacteria including certain strains of MRSA, as well as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Clostridium difficile (C.diff).

The British researchers’ team said the new antibiotic, called Seraticin, is made from the maggot secretions of the common green bottle fly.

Maggot therapy, in which maggots are placed on small wounds, is a well established method of fighting infection. Now the researchers hope to turn the newly developed antibiotic into a drug that can be injected, swallowed as a pill or used as an ointment.

The research team, which also involved scientists at universities in Belgium, says that it takes around 20 maggots to make one drop of the Seraticin in its purified form.

"It has been a huge team effort to get to this level and I am delighted with our progress.” Professor Norman Ratcliffe, a principal researcher on the project, said of their research.

"However there is more to do if we are to realize the maximum benefits from this discovery,” he added.

Dr Alun Morgan of Wales-based ZooBiotic Ltd. that supplied the maggots for the project, said: "Maggots are great little multi-taskers. They produce enzymes that clean wounds, they make a wound more alkaline which may slow bacterial growth and finally they produce a range of antibacterial chemicals that stop the bacteria growing."

Universally termed as a “Superbug”, MRSA is a communicable infection that often transmits through touch. It is resistant to all standard antibiotics and is showing more immunity to newer drugs.

MRSA is an uncommon bacterium, with only about one third people carrying it in their nose, skin and throat. Most of the times it is innocuous, but occasionally it may lead to fatal infections.

The infection, which can be caused even by a paper cut, can cause wounds which resemble infected spider bites. It can also cause a deadly lung disease known as necrotizing pneumonia, and toxic-shock syndrome, which is a type of blood poisoning that can be disastrous.

The early visible indication for the infection is a pimple or boils on the skin, which is reddish in colour, has a discharge and is painful.

Dr Yolande Harley, from the charity Action Medical Research which funded the research, thinks the discovery of a potential new antibiotic is an exciting development. The discovery can help scientists develop possible new treatment for people with chronic wounds that are infected with MRSA or other bugs.

"By developing the pure antibiotic into a formula, such as a cream, it could reduce the contact patients need to have with live maggots to heal wounds. It could also offer a potential treatment, such as an injection or pill, for internal infections like C. difficile," Harley asserts.