Every year there are over 2.8 million people who get an infection that is resistant to antibiotics. Each year this number increases, leading some scientists to believe that we may be at the start of a post-antibiotic era.
What is an antibiotic superbug?
An antibiotic superbug is a virus, parasite, fungi, or bacteria that have adapted to resist the drugs used to fight it. This means that people who develop these
infections cannot be as easily treated and may die. Drug resistance is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has been sped up due to the unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics. When antibiotics were first released in 1941, with the discovery of penicillin, many doctors thought that the drugs were a cure-all miracle drug. Unfortunately, the more we have learned about them, the less of a miracle drug they appear to be.
How can we treat antibiotic resistance?
There has been much research done on how we can solve the problem of antibiotic resistance. Ideas such as; antimicrobial peptides, gene editing, etc. have been looked into as a solution. Recently though, a new possible solution
has come to light; platypus milk. The platypus is a very strange mammal, as it lays eggs and is also venomous. One of its strange factors, the fact that it dispenses its milk out onto its stomach, may be the key to curing antibiotic resistance diseases. Due to the fact that the milk is exposed, it contains antibacterial properties to keep it safe for the platypus’ young. These antimicrobial properties have been shown to fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
The reason that the antibacterial properties of the milk can fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs, is a special one of a kind protein found in the milk. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization(CSIRO) has named this protein “Shirley Temple,” due to the fact that the protein is in ringlet like structures. A researcher, Newman, was able to replicate this protein in 2014, which gave us immense insight into how the protein works the way it does. Even though platypus milk is not the cure itself for antibiotic resistance superbugs, the information that it gives us may help us finally crack the code for how to beat them.
Discussion
So, is platypus milk the cure to antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The short answer is no. The milk itself cannot be given to patients and the antibacterial protein is too limited to be given to every patient. But, the protein can be replicated and used to create drugs that will solve this issue. It is very important to keep our minds open when solving a problem like this, because as we found out, the solutions may come from the most unexpected places.
Sources:
Hampton T. Novel Programs and Discoveries Aim to Combat Antibiotic Resistance. JAMA. 2015;313(24):2411–2413. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.4738
