Doctors May Have New Weapon Against Flesh-Eating Bacteria

A new class of antibiotics could be at hand The compounds, called GmPcides, target gram-positive bacteria The new antibiotic cleared mice of infection with a bacteria that causes flesh-eating disease MONDAY, Aug. 5, 2024 (HeathDay News) -- A new antimicrobial compound can effectively clear “flesh-eating” bacterial infections in mice, a new study shows. The compound could be the first in an entirely new class of antibiotics, which could prove invaluable in the fight against germs, researchers said.

“Bacterial infections of every type are an important health problem, and they are increasingly becoming multi-drug resistant and thus harder to treat,” said co-senior researcher , a professor of molecular microbiology with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers dubbed the new class of antibiotics GmPcides, for gram-positive-icide.

It’s based on a type of molecule called ring-fused-2-pyridone. GmPcides target , which cause drug-resistant staph infections, toxic shock syndrome and other deadly infectious illnesses, researchers said. Gram-positive bacteria tend to have thick cell walls, and can release a variety of toxins during an infection.

“All of the gram-positive bacteria that we’ve tested have been susceptible to that compound. That includes , which are the major pathogenic bacteria types,” said co-senior researcher , a professor of molecular microbiology with Washington University. For this new study, researchers focused on , which is .