2023-10-10 16:24:20
New vaccine gives superbugs no chance
Remedies from researchers at the University of Southern California against deadly hospital germs in sight
Los Angeles, PTE, 10. October
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed an experimental vaccine against superbugs that is intended to prevent infections with aggressive germs – especially in hospitals – in the future. In mice, one dose causes the immune system to be put on high alert so that it destroys all intruders. According to the experts, the preparation protects against nine different bacteria and fungi.
“It’s an early warning system. “It’s like Homeland Security is putting out a terror alert: Be on the lookout for suspicious packages,” said Brad Spellberg, chief medical officer at USC-affiliated Los Angeles General Medical Center. The USC Stevens Center for Innovation, the university’s technology licensing arm, has filed a patent for the vaccine. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has provided startup ExBaq LLC with nearly $1 million to advance the vaccine to approval.
Every year in the USA alone, over 90,000 people die from infections contracted in hospitals. This will cost between $28 and $45 billion. The experimental vaccine differs fundamentally from previous vaccines. It activates immune cells already present in the body, so-called macrophages, which devour and digest bacteria, fungi, and other harmful microorganisms. These activated fighters, found in all tissues, quickly neutralize incoming invaders that would otherwise multiply rapidly and eliminate the body’s defenses.
The new vaccine candidate consists of only three ingredients, two of which are already used in vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration. A third component is a tiny piece of the surface of a fungus commonly found on human skin. According to the scientists, the vaccine, tested in two independent laboratories, works within 24 hours and lasts up to 28 days. It is said that the number of pathogen-feeding immune cells in the blood of the treated mice increased dramatically.]
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