Health & Science

Nothing strikes fear into a physician's heart quite like the word "superbug." Superbugs are infectious strains of bacteria that are highly resistant to traditional antibiotics. Penicillin, regarded as the first distillable and commercially viable antibiotic, is not even 100 years old. It was the first drug available to treat diseases ranging from gonorrhea to meningitis. Yet, despite its relatively young existence in the evolutionary timeline of all organisms, several strains of bacteria have sprouted that aren't affected by penicillin whatsoever.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a particular type of rather malicious superbug. Its less dangerous counterpart, the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, is a relatively common microbe. It can be found normally on the skin and nasal passages. Rarely, it can wiggle its way past the body's immune system and begin wreaking havoc in the form of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and atopic dermatitis. While its manifestations are both rather serious diseases, they have always been easily treated with penicillin or newer drugs such as methicillin or oxacillin. Unfortunately, MRSA strains don't respond to those drugs.

Bacteria can have one of several virulence factors, or modes of damage. Staph, like many others, relies on secreted toxins, which affect bodily proteins and cells in various ways. Our immune systems, as strong and wondrous as they may be, can only fight infections so far. If bacteria become deep-seated in an organism, they can multiply once every half hour or less. It's easy to see how they can quickly overwhelm immune responses by their numbers coupled with virulence factors.

Just as bacteria work in different ways, antibiotics have different mechanisms of action too. Penicillin works by inhibiting the growth of a certain protein within the bacterial wall, eventually causing the single-celled organism to rupture and die. Others, such as methicillin and cephalosporins, work similarly.

Here's the clincher: Most biological functions work on the principle of specificity. Those bacterial toxins can harm human cells because they've evolved specifically to affect them. Likewise, penicillin works by targeting a very specific protein in the bacterial cell wall. If the wall protein is ever-so-slightly different, then the drug might not have an effect at all.

Changing one's biological composition sounds daunting, or time consuming to say the least. Humans, and most multi-cellular organisms, evolve over millions of years. Bacteria, on the other hand, can evolve in a lustrum or less.

Charles Darwin speculated that evolution was caused by natural selection. Certain environmental factors favor specific biological traits, and the individuals who possess those traits succeed by reproducing. Without sexual reproduction, evolution doesn't work. Therein lies the difference: Human generations are roughly 20 to 40 years apart, whereas bacterial generations are created every hour or so.

Of course, those environmental factors must be present as well. For that reason, many superbugs are unknowingly bred in hospitals, of all places. Hospitals are home to many people who are taking antibiotics regularly. As bacteria are more exposed to each drug, they're further subjected to the evolutionary pressures that allow them to develop resistance.

If we don't develop newer antibiotics regularly, we'll eventually be back at square one, with virtually no defense against some of the most dangerous bacteria to threaten our species. Prevention is incredibly important. Practicing good hygiene and sanitary measures is paramount.

Most importantly, only take antibiotics when prescribed by a physician, and complete the course of medication even if the infection is seemingly cured. Sometimes, symptoms may disappear but the bacteria are still present. If medication is stopped, the infection could rebound, prompting another course of antibiotics - simply increasing their exposure to the drug rather than killing them.

Certainly the future of superbugs is dependent upon new antibiotics being developed. Interestingly, alligators may also hold a key. Researchers in Louisiana are currently investigating alligators for their incredible resistance to infection. They frequently fight one another and suffer cuts, scratches, and gouges all over their body. Furthermore, they live in bacteria-infested swamps, yet they almost never fall victim to bacterial infection.

In one test, serum from gator blood was subjected to 23 different kinds of infectious bacteria. All of them were destroyed, whereas human serum would only defeat about eight on average. Scientists think there may be certain proteins within alligators' blood that defend against bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. They have an "innate immune system"; in other words, they don't need to be exposed to a disease first to be able to recognize a pathogen and thwart it as humans do.

Hopefully, these miracle proteins will be able to be extracted and purified for human use against superbugs.