Infection: Types, causes, and differences

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New Antibiotic Kills Deadly, Drug-resistant Bacteria In 'scientific Breakthrough'

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Scientists in Switzerland have announced the discovery of a new class of antibiotics shown to be effective against deadly, drug-resistant bacteria.

The antibiotic, called zosurabalpin, works by blocking a bacterial molecule called lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is responsible for creating the outer membrane that protects a harmful bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii.

Acinetobacter is a "gram-negative" bacteria, which means it is resistant to most antibiotics and other drugs.

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It can cause infections in the blood, lungs, urinary tract and other parts of the body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Scientists in Switzerland have announced the discovery of a new class of antibiotics that shown to be effective against deadly, drug-resistant bacteria. (iStock)

In animal studies, zosurabalpin successfully killed drug-resistant strains of Acinetobacter.

The research, conducted at Roche Pharma Research & Early Development in Switzerland, was published in the journal Nature on Jan. 3."This new class of antibiotics prevents bacteria from creating their outer membrane, which provide structure to the bacteria and help them survive in harsh environments and cause infection," Kenneth Bradley, the Switzerland-based global head of infectious disease discovery at Roche, told Fox News Digital via email.

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Without the ability to transport LPS — the bacteria die.

"The new molecule overcomes the existing drug-resistance mechanisms that the currently available antibiotics are failing to address," Bradley said.

Kenneth Bradley, the Switzerland-based global head of infectious disease discovery at Roche, provided input on the antibiotic's discovery. (Roche Pharma Research & Early Development (pRED))

This is the first time in over 50 years that a new class of antibiotic has been identified to treat infections by gram-negative bacteria, he noted.

Zosurabalpin specifically targets Acinetobacter.

"The specificity of zosurabalpin is due to the unique way in which it binds to the drug target in these bacteria," Bradley said.

The hope is that this finding could help eventually to fight other drug-resistant bacteria.

"Discovery of the mode of action of zosurabalpin in Acinetobacter may enable the identification of other drugs that work in the same way in other antibiotic-resistant bacteria," Bradley told Fox News Digital.

Zosurabalpin is currently in a phase 1 clinical trial, which will evaluate the "safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics" of the molecule, according to the researcher.

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"These data, as well as data from future pivotal phase 3 clinical studies, would be needed to determine the safety and efficacy profile of the molecule," he added.

The discovery of zosurabalpin, which Bradley calls a "scientific breakthrough," will help researchers learn more about the construction of bacterial membranes, knowledge that could enable new drugs to kill bacteria.

The finding is especially significant, given that resistance to antibiotics has been on the rise in various gram-negative bacteria for several decades, he said.

Acinetobacter infections are most commonly seen in hospital patients, mainly affecting those who are on ventilators, have surgical wounds, are in intensive care units or have catheters, according to the CDC. (iStock)

"Any new antibiotic class that has the ability to treat infections caused by multi-drug-resistant bacteria such as carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) would be a significant breakthrough," he added.

Michael Lobritz, the Switzerland-based head of infectious diseases at Roche, referred in a press release to antimicrobial resistance as a "silent pandemic."

"Over the next 30 years, it is projected to claim more lives than those taken by cancer today, according to the report of the economist Jim O'Neill," Lobritz said.

Over the next 30 years, antimicrobial resistance is "projected to claim more lives than those taken by cancer today," an expert said.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, agreed that the growing resistance of gram-negative bacteria is a "huge problem."

"Our last line of defense for decades now in the hospital has been the carbapenem drugs, specifically Imipenem and Mirapenem," he told Fox News Digital.

The research was done at Roche Pharma Research & Early Development in Switzerland. (iStock)

"But now there is an increase of carbapenem-resistant strains — including carbapenem-resistant Acinobacter baumannii, or CRAB — which are very difficult to treat."

Siegel also acknowledged the importance of the newly discovered zosurabalpin.

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"It interferes with a lipid transport mechanism at the surface of the bacteria," he said. "This is very important, as there are now millions of deaths a year worldwide due to antibiotic resistance."

Zosurabalpin has only been tested in animals so far, Siegel noted, with human trials underway.

Those with lung disease, diabetes or weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of infection. (iStock)

Those with lung disease, diabetes or weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of infection.

The bacteria can spread from person to person or via contact with contaminated surfaces.

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Acinetobacter baumannii, along with other gram-negative bacteria, is tracked by the CDC as part of its Emerging Infections Program.

Looking ahead, Siegel said he expects that artificial intelligence will help speed up the process of developing new antibiotics and make it "more effective and streamlined."

For more Health articles, visit www.Foxnews.Com/health.

New Antibiotic Uses Novel Method To Target Deadly Drug-resistant Bacteria, Study Says

CNN —

Scientists say they have developed a new type of antibiotic to treat bacteria that is resistant to most current antibiotics and kills a large percentage of people with an invasive infection.

The bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, can cause serious infections in the lungs, urinary tract and blood, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's resistant to a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics called carbapenems.

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, also known as CRAB, was at the top of the World Health Organization's list of antibiotic-resistant "priority pathogens" in 2017. In the United States, the bacteria caused an estimated 8,500 infections in hospitalized patients and 700 deaths that year, according to the most recent data from the CDC.

CRAB accounts for about 2% of infections found in US hospitals. It's more common in Asia and the Middle East and causes up to 20% of infections in intensive care units worldwide.

The bacteria thrives in medical environments like hospitals and nursing homes. People at the highest risk of infections are those who have a catheter, who are on a ventilator or who have open wounds from surgery.

The pathogen is so difficult to eliminate that the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved a new class of antibiotic to treat it in more than 50 years, the researchers note in their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

But the researchers, from Harvard University and the Swiss health care company Hoffmann-La Roche, say the new antibiotic, zosurabalpin, can effectively kill Acinetobacter baumannii.

Zosurabalpin is in its own chemical class and has a unique method of action, says Dr. Kenneth Bradley, the global head of infectious disease discovery with Roche Pharma Research and Early Development and one of the researchers.

"This is a novel approach, both in terms of the compound itself but as well as the mechanism by which it kills bacteria," he said.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative bacteria, meaning it is protected by inner and outer membranes, making it difficult to treat. The goal of the research was to identify and fine-tune a molecule that could cross the double membranes and kill the bacteria.

"These two membranes create a very formidable barrier for entry of molecules like antibiotics," Bradley said.

The researchers began developing zosurabalpin by examining about 45,000 small antibiotic molecules called tethered macrocyclic peptides and identifying those that could inhibit the growth of different types of bacteria. After years of improving the potency and safety of a smaller number of compounds, the researchers landed on one modified molecule.

Zosurabalpin inhibits the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii by preventing the movement of large molecules called lipopolysaccharides to the outer membrane, where they're needed to maintain the membrane's integrity. This causes the molecules to accumulate inside the bacterial cell. Levels inside the cell become so toxic that the cell itself dies.

Zosurabalpin was effective against more than 100 CRAB clinical samples that were tested, according to the research.

The antibiotic considerably reduced the levels of bacteria in mice with CRAB-induced pneumonia, the researchers say. It also prevented the death of mice with sepsis brought on by the bacteria.

"Drug discovery that targets harmful Gram-negative bacteria is a long-standing challenge owing to difficulties in getting molecules to cross the bacterial membranes to reach targets in the cytoplasm," the researchers wrote. "Successful compounds typically must possess a certain combination of chemical characteristics."

Zosurabalpin is in now in phase 1 clinical trials to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacology of the molecule in humans, according to the study authors.

Still, the public health threat of antimicrobial resistance remains a huge one globally due to a lack of effective treatments, says Dr. Michael Lobritz, the global head of infectious diseases at Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, who also took part in the research.

Antimicrobial resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi evolve enough that they are able to survive encounters with the drugs designed to kill them.

About 1.3 million people worldwide died directly from antimicrobial resistance in 2019, according to a 2022 analysis published in the Lancet. By comparison, HIV/AIDS and malaria caused 860,000 and 640,000 deaths, respectively, that year.

In the US, there are more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections each year. More than 35,000 people die as a result, according to the CDC's 2019 Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report.

In recent decades, more antibiotics have been developed to treat Gram-positive infections, which are typically less harmful and less resistant to antibiotics than Gram-negative bacteria, Lobritz said.

"For these Gram-negative bacteria, they've been accumulating resistance to many of our preferred first-line antibiotics for a long time," he said, and zosurabalpin is a single antibiotic up against a "very formidable" pathogen.

Even though more research is needed and zosurabalpin is still years from clinical use, it's an extremely promising development, says Dr. César de la Fuente, Presidential Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

"It might be multiple years," said de la Fuente, who was not involved with the new research. "Nevertheless, I think from an academic perspective, it is exciting to see a new type of molecule that kills bacteria in a different way. We certainly need new out-of-the-box ways of thinking about antibiotic discovery, and I think this is a good example of that."

The researchers say the approach used to inhibit the growth of Acinetobacter could help with other hard-to-treat bacteria like E. Coli.

"It works by blocking the creation or formation of this outer membrane," Bradley said, adding that this process is shared across all Gram-negative bacteria. By understanding the biology behind this process, future researchers can learn how to inhibit growth in other bacteria using different modified molecules, he says.

The only drawback, the researchers note, is that the modified molecule will work only against the specific bacteria it is designed to kill.

However, de la Fuente says this method of modifying molecules to target a specific bacteria could be better for our overall health, as many broad-spectrum antibiotics are known to kill good bacteria, particularly in our gut and on our skin.

"For decades, we've been obsessed with creating or discovering broad-spectrum antibiotics that kill everything," he said. "Why not try to come up with specific, more targeted antibiotics that only target the pathogen that is causing the infection and not all the other things that might be good for us?"

Bacteria May Be Lurking In Your Stanley Cup—Here's How To Clean It

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People on social media are finding black spots in their water bottles.

Doctors say this may be mold or bacteria—but it's unlikely to make you sick.

Here's exactly how to clean your Stanley cup.

Stanley cups are having a moment right now, with everyone from soccer moms to Jennifer Garner using the insulated vessels. But several people are making discoveries about their beloved tumblers on TikTok: They can harbor and mold and bacteria. Luckily, learning how to clean your Stanley cup can go a long way in preventing the buildup of gunk.

At least that's what one person on TikTok, Skylar Ray Rose, learned. She shared a "Stanley hack" video that went viral. In it, Rose talks about how she typically will remove the lid and straw to clean her tumbler. However, she noted that she recently learned she can remove the top section of her lid, too. "I literally have mold," she said in the video, holding up her lid, which had previously hidden black spots on it. "This is so gross," she added.

In a separate video, fellow TikToker Nicole Kramer shared the inside of her Stanley cup, which shows spots of…something. "I've been drinking out of that all weekend and all this morning during my workout. I've had the worst sore throat. I had no idea why," she said. Kramer also wrote this in the caption: "I use my Stanley on a daily basis and it's so easy to forget the last time you washed it when you never stop using it."

To be fair, this situation isn't unique to Stanley—there have been many stories and social media posts over the years about gunk build-up in reusable water bottles. But these posts and more are raising plenty of questions about whether this can make you sick, and how to properly clean your reusable bottle. Here's the deal.

Meet the experts: Tanya M. Laidlaw, M.D., director of Translational Research in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School; Robert Laumbach, M.D., M.P.H., a researcher and associate professor of occupation medicine at Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute; Purvi Parikh, M.D., an allergist with Allergy & Asthma Network

How to clean a Stanley water bottle

Before we jump into what may or may not be lurking in your cup, The brand has very specific instructions online on how to clean a Stanley cup. The brand's website says to clean tumblers in between each use with gentle dish soap and a dish rag, soft sponge, or small brush.

But Stanley also notes that most of its products are dishwasher safe (including its popular tumblers). Just separate the different parts of your tumbler (including various components on the lid) and put them in the dishwasher. Worth noting: The company says that hand-washing is the best bet to keep the finish or paint looking its best.

Keep in mind that you'll want to give your tumbler a good scrub before tossing it in the dishwasher if you spot black gunk on it, Tanya M. Laidlaw, M.D., director of Translational Research in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, says. "Simply putting it in the dishwasher doesn't provide enough friction to truly rid the surface of the microbes," she explains.

Overall, doctors just recommend cleaning your tumbler and any reusable bottles you use regularly within reason. "You don't need to sterilize your cup," Dr. Laumbach says. "Nothing is sterile unless you're in a hospital operating room."

What are the black spots in my water bottle?

While plenty of people online refer to the black gunk as mold, it could be bacteria, says Robert Laumbach, M.D., M.P.H., a researcher and associate professor of occupation medicine at Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. "It may be more likely to be bacteria than mold," he says. "Both mold and bacteria can grow on moist surfaces, but mold prefers it a little drier and bacteria prefers it a little wetter."

The bacteria can specifically be oral flora bacteria, Dr. Laumbach says, which is bacteria that's already lurking in your mouth that simply got transferred into the cup. "It's the bacteria from your mouth that's growing in the drink or lid," he says.

But that doesn't mean it can't be mold. "Both mold and bacteria can produce a black color," says Dr. Laidlaw. "You can't tell just by looking at it. Mold is absolutely an option, but so is bacteria."

Can mold or bacteria growing in my water bottle make me sick?

Ick factor aside, Dr. Laumbach says this "organic material" is largely no big deal. "It's relatively harmless," he says. Dr. Laumbach also notes that, in most of the documented social media videos of the tumblers, the gunk is either under a portion of the lid or on the side of the inside of the cup. "It's not necessarily proliferating in the drink," he says.

If there is, in fact, mold growing in your lid or cup, it could make you sick, says Purvi Parikh, M.D., an allergist with Allergy & Asthma Network—it's just not overly likely.

Dr. Parikh says you may have the following symptoms if you breathe in mold:

Coughing

Wheezing

Trouble breathing

And, if you happen to drink mold and are allergic to it, Dr. Parikh says you might experience these symptoms:

Headache

Rashes

Diarrhea

Vomiting

But Dr. Laidlaw stresses that this is harmless to most people, including to most of those with mold allergies. "It's the breathing and inhaling of mold spores that tend to cause symptoms," she says, noting that most people's mouths and GI tracts are good at breaking down the proteins in mold. "If I had a mold allergy patient who said, 'Oh my goodness, I had mold in my Stanley cup,' I would just say, 'Clean it,'" Dr. Laidlaw says.

Regardless of what that black stuff is, Dr. Laumbach says that the vast majority of bacteria and mold is "harmless" to most people who aren't allergic to it and that it's "highly unlikely" that anything growing in your Stanley tumbler will make you sick.

As for posts on social media attributing a sore throat to the mold or bacteria from their water bottles, Dr. Laumbach says it's likely a coincidence. "It's hard to imagine any circumstances in which bacteria like streptococcus that can cause sore throat would be growing in the cup," he says. "Much more common is viruses, which would not grow in the cup." Dr. Laidlaw agrees. "The concern I have is that people would rule out other things that are much more likely causing their symptoms and won't go to the doctor to see if they have influenza or COVID because they think they got sick from mold in their cup," she says.

Overall, Dr. Laumbach says the message is clear: "Just clean your cup."

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