New research conducted in the UK puts the spotlight on an unconventional treatment for patients dealing with diabetic foot ulcers: a virus found in the bodies of some threatened animal species.
In England, around 75,000 people receive treatment for diabetic foot ulcers every week. Unfortunately, many of these patients do not respond to standard antibiotic treatment, resulting in approximately 7,000 amputations annually.
Scientists from the University of Sheffield (England), led by Professor Graham Stafford, collaborated with the Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP) and discovered that in the bodies of some of the endangered animals there are bacteriophages that could treat the disease. This virus was identified in faeces from five animals out of a total of 450. All live in Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
Animal feces contain naturally occurring viruses, bacteriophages. These viruses have been shown to have the ability to treat the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause diabetic foot ulcers.
According to scientists, bacteriophages are widespread in nature and have proven effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria. They often succeed in killing bacteria even when antibiotics fail.
This research could pave the way for these viruses to be incorporated into dressings for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers that were previously difficult to treat, he writes Interesting Engineering.
The team of scientists detected bacteriophages in animals including guinea baboons, giraffes and lemurs.
The team is now working to turn the antibacterial viruses into viable treatments for patients whose next option is losing a toe, foot or entire leg.
The practice has already been used several times to treat sepsis and some diabetic foot infections.
“Diabetic foot infections are often challenging to treat and patients may need surgery to amputate part of their foot, which can have a huge impact on their quality of life.
If bacteriophage therapy proves successful, it could give us the ability to treat these infections in a different way, shortening antibiotic treatments and potentially avoiding the need for surgery,” said microbiologist Dr. Dave Partridge consultant to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
This research is part of a wider initiative by UK Bioscience to discover new antimicrobials, tackling the pressing global problem of antimicrobial drug resistance. This problem is growing and will affect millions of patients in the UK and around the world.
2023-10-10 03:00:57
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