Thursday,
April 14, 2011 by: S. L. Baker, features writer
April 14, 2011 by: S. L. Baker, features writer
NaturalNews) In less than a week, three different research studies have been released about
antibiotic-resistant super bugs. Two were issued as nothing less than dire
warnings. For example, as NaturalNews covered earlier, UK scientists are
calling for the "urgent need for global action" due to the discovery of a
spreading phenomenon -- a gene that is turning bacteria into not just super bugs
but SUPER superbugs.
On the heels of that report, the Infectious Diseases
Society of America (IDSA) has just sounded the alarm that an impending "health
care disaster" is looming unless Big Pharma can find new drugs to combat deadly
antibiotic-resistant super bugs.
Tired of all this bad news? Keep
reading. Because amid all this gloom-and-doom about the threat of deadly super bugs
comes yet another study from a third group of scientists that reaches a
new and hopeful conclusion.
It turns out these researchers have
found a way to battle life-threatening super bugs naturally with manuka honey. In fact, manuka honey
could be an efficient way to clear chronically infected wounds and could even
reverse super bug bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Those are the results of a report just presented at the Society for General
Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate in the UK. Professor Rose Cooper
from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff is investigating how manuka honey
interacts with three types of bacteria that commonly
infest wounds: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Group A Streptococci and
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). She and her research team have
discovered that honey can interfere with the growth of these bacteria in a
multitude of ways. And that makes honey a strong option for the treatment of drug-resistant wound
infections.
The idea that honey has antimicrobial properties is nothing
new. In fact, traditional therapies containing honey were used in the topical
treatment of wounds by numerous ancient civilizations. Professor Cooper is
particularly interested in the super bug-fighting potential of manuka honey,
which comes from nectar collected by honey bees foraging on the manuka tree in
New Zealand.
Although manuka honey is found in modern wound-care products
sold around the world, the anti-infection properties of the honey have not been
used much by mainstream medicine. According to a press statement, Professor
Cooper's group believes this is because the mechanisms of the honey's germ
zapping action haven't been known. So they are working to document just how
manuka honey halts wound-infecting bacteria, including super bugs, on a
molecular level.
"Our findings with streptococci
and pseudomonads suggest that manuka honey can hamper the attachment of bacteria
to tissues which is an essential step in the initiation of acute infections. Inhibiting
attachment also blocks the formation of biofilms, which can protect bacteria
from antibiotics and allow them to cause persistent infections," explained
Professor Cooper in a media statement.
"Other work in our lab has shown that honey can make MRSA more
sensitive to antibiotics such as oxacillin -- effectively reversing antibiotic
resistance. This indicates that existing antibiotics may be more effective against drug-resistant
infections if used in combination with manuka honey."
The researchers believe their findings may increase the clinical use of manuka honey as doctors
are faced with the threat of diminishingly effective systemic antibiotics now
used to try and control wound infections. "We need innovative and effective ways
of controlling wound infections that are unlikely to contribute to increased
antimicrobial resistance," said Professor Cooper. "The use of a topical agent
(manuka honey) to eradicate bacteria from wounds is potentially cheaper and may
well improve antibiotic therapy in the future. This will help reduce the transmission of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria from colonized wounds to susceptible
patients."
Visit us online: http://www.EverythingHoneyBee.com
antibiotic-resistant super bugs. Two were issued as nothing less than dire
warnings. For example, as NaturalNews covered earlier, UK scientists are
calling for the "urgent need for global action" due to the discovery of a
spreading phenomenon -- a gene that is turning bacteria into not just super bugs
but SUPER superbugs.
On the heels of that report, the Infectious Diseases
Society of America (IDSA) has just sounded the alarm that an impending "health
care disaster" is looming unless Big Pharma can find new drugs to combat deadly
antibiotic-resistant super bugs.
Tired of all this bad news? Keep
reading. Because amid all this gloom-and-doom about the threat of deadly super bugs
comes yet another study from a third group of scientists that reaches a
new and hopeful conclusion.
It turns out these researchers have
found a way to battle life-threatening super bugs naturally with manuka honey. In fact, manuka honey
could be an efficient way to clear chronically infected wounds and could even
reverse super bug bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Those are the results of a report just presented at the Society for General
Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate in the UK. Professor Rose Cooper
from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff is investigating how manuka honey
interacts with three types of bacteria that commonly
infest wounds: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Group A Streptococci and
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). She and her research team have
discovered that honey can interfere with the growth of these bacteria in a
multitude of ways. And that makes honey a strong option for the treatment of drug-resistant wound
infections.
The idea that honey has antimicrobial properties is nothing
new. In fact, traditional therapies containing honey were used in the topical
treatment of wounds by numerous ancient civilizations. Professor Cooper is
particularly interested in the super bug-fighting potential of manuka honey,
which comes from nectar collected by honey bees foraging on the manuka tree in
New Zealand.
Although manuka honey is found in modern wound-care products
sold around the world, the anti-infection properties of the honey have not been
used much by mainstream medicine. According to a press statement, Professor
Cooper's group believes this is because the mechanisms of the honey's germ
zapping action haven't been known. So they are working to document just how
manuka honey halts wound-infecting bacteria, including super bugs, on a
molecular level.
"Our findings with streptococci
and pseudomonads suggest that manuka honey can hamper the attachment of bacteria
to tissues which is an essential step in the initiation of acute infections. Inhibiting
attachment also blocks the formation of biofilms, which can protect bacteria
from antibiotics and allow them to cause persistent infections," explained
Professor Cooper in a media statement.
"Other work in our lab has shown that honey can make MRSA more
sensitive to antibiotics such as oxacillin -- effectively reversing antibiotic
resistance. This indicates that existing antibiotics may be more effective against drug-resistant
infections if used in combination with manuka honey."
The researchers believe their findings may increase the clinical use of manuka honey as doctors
are faced with the threat of diminishingly effective systemic antibiotics now
used to try and control wound infections. "We need innovative and effective ways
of controlling wound infections that are unlikely to contribute to increased
antimicrobial resistance," said Professor Cooper. "The use of a topical agent
(manuka honey) to eradicate bacteria from wounds is potentially cheaper and may
well improve antibiotic therapy in the future. This will help reduce the transmission of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria from colonized wounds to susceptible
patients."
Visit us online: http://www.EverythingHoneyBee.com
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