The development of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is becoming a serious problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports MRSA infections are primarily skin infections in the community and life-threatening bloodstream infections, pneumonia and surgical site infections in medical facilities. Georgia State University reported, new antimicrobials could help in the fight against drug-resistant MRSA infections.
Researchers have found a novel class of antimicrobials which inhibits the function of a key disease-causing component of bacteria which could be effective in fighting MRSA. This is very significant since MRSA is one of the major drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Serious hospital and community acquired infections are caused by MRSA.
Invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints are often linked to healthcare-associated MRSA infections. Community-acquired MRSA generally starts as a skin boil and is than spread via skin-to-skin contact. Child care workers, competitive wrestlers and people living in crowded conditions are at risk. The researchers said what are known as SecA inhibitors are broad-spectrum antimicrobials which have been found to be very effective against strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics presently being used.
This study has been published in the journal ChemMedChem. The researchers have found that SecA, which is a primary component of the bacterial Sec-dependent secretion pathway, serves as a good target for the development of new antimicrobial agents. The the capacity of SecA inhibitors to block the effect of multidrug resistance has been demonstrated. This is a significant finding which may help save many lives.
