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It seems that poop can heal – at least in some cases.
According to a study published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, two of the most common antibiotic-resistant bacteria circulating in hospitals can be wiped out by transplanting feces from a healthy animal into the gut of an infected one, a study on mice has found.
The study examined two antibiotic resistant bugs: vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) and multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumonia.
The research team found that the bacteria can share the same location in the gut, but that “transplantation of a diverse faecal microbiota eliminates both VRE and K. pneumoniae from the gut,” said Eric Pamer, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York
The study also revealed some new insights into how these bacteria colonize the gastrointestinal tract.
“Using a dose of other gut microbes through fecal transplantation appears to effectively displace these antibiotic resistant microbes, which warrants further investigation,” said Professor Mark Morrison, Chair of Microbial Biology and Metagenomics at the University of Queensland, who was not involved in the study.
Previous studies have found that the gut’s protective mucus layer that normally guards against microbes can thin out when gut microbiota are not well-balanced.
Morrison said more work was needed before the findings could be applied to humans infected with these bacteria.
“In addition to the potential of fecal transplants, we need to ensure the prudent and effective use of existing antibiotics, and better monitor and detect these bugs. We must find new solutions to inhibit existing superbugs and develop strategies that minimize, or even eliminate, the potential for development of new superbugs,” he said. – Rappler.com
This story was first published on The Conversation, a collaboration between editors and academics to provide informed news analysis and commentary.
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