Superbug breakthrough as scientists develop test to save over 10 million lives a year

Researchers at the Doherty Institute have developed a standardised test which will help accurately determine the transmission of the Vancomycin-resistant deadly Enterococcus faecium (VREfm). VREfm is a lethal strain of the Enterococcus faecium pathogen that has become resistant to Vancomycin, a common antibiotic used to treat numerous bacterial infections. Due to its resistance to antibiotics, VREfm has been listed by the World Health Organisation as a high priority pathogen. 

A person can be infected by this strain of bacteria during their stay at a hospital. 

The rise in rates of human infection caused by VREfm strains between 1988 to the 2000s in Europe has been associated with infection from livestock. 

However, since the European Union banned the use of the glycopeptide drug avoparcin as a growth promoter in livestock feed, the deaths from this bacteria in the UK and EU have fallen. 

Although numbers have not been consistently reported in Australia, VREfm caused an estimated 54,500 infections and 5,400 deaths in the United States in a single year back in 2017, according to the Doherty Institute. 

Speaking to Express.co.uk, lead author on the paper, University of Melbourne PhD Candidate at the Doherty Institute, Charlie Higgs stressed the dangers posed by “superbugs”, which are pathogens like bacteria or viruses that have mutated to become resistant to treatment from common antibiotics. 

He said: “Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose an immediate threat to our healthcare systems.

“Some patients are faced with infections that are resistant to all known antibiotics and cannot be treated.

“By 2050 it is estimated that every year as many as 10 million people will lose their lives as a result. 

READ MORE: Scientists discover new approach to beat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

“Methods developed during this study will be key for allowing us to gain a clear view of how these resistant bacteria are spreading in hospitals. 

While various methods of genome sequencing and analysis have been used to track the spread of VREfm in hospitals, until now these tests have never been standardised or optimised for accuracy, meaning transmission links can be missed, potentially enabling the bacteria to spread undetected.

In the study published in Nature Communications, this new framework will enable the rapid identification of potential outbreaks, allowing public health teams to intervene early and prevent further transmission of the deadly pathogen.

Professor Higgs said: “The techniques that we have developed can go a long way towards detecting and preventing infections and ultimately save lives.”

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University of Melbourne Professor Ben Howden explained that the use of this new standardised framework across institutions will allow greater comparability of studies.

He said: “The framework will facilitate the use of VRE genomics as a true ‘precision public health’ tool to inform the control of this high-risk AMR pathogen.”