SFU research team studies superbug genes to help fight global health threat

Researchers at Simon Fraser University are studying the genes of superbugs to help develop new treatments for the infections they cause.

Superbugs are micro-organisms — bacteria, viruses and fungi — that have evolved to resist common antibiotics. The SFU team used sequencing technology and computational analysis in an effort to understand what makes them so resistant to existing treatments.

The importance of understanding the genes associated with pathogens in creating new antivirulence treatments is underscored in their report, published in February’s edition of eBioMedicine.

“Part of our research was to figure out what these genes do and how they’re responsible for causing disease and infection symptoms in humans,” said lead author Venus Lau in an SFU news release.

Antivirulent drugs are an alternative way to treat infections caused by superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics. Antivirulent therapies work to inhibit the ability of the bacteria to cause the disease, whereas antibiotics kill the bacteria, encouraging it to fight back and develop drug resistance, said SFU.

“Antibiotics wipe out bacteria leading to a process of natural selection where those few surviving bacteria in the population will then repopulate,” said SFU molecular biology and biochemistry postdoctoral fellow Patrick Taylor in the release.

“The bacteria that are not killed off are really good at sharing their genetics with each other, which is why we have this rising global issue of antibiotic resistance.”

12:17 Superbugs: The global health crisis that threatens modern medicine

Some experts have said another way to combat superbugs is to reduce intake and reliance on antibacterial therapies.

A recent report commissioned by the federal government suggested that in the next three decades, the evolution of superbugs may put some of the treatments we take for granted — like caesarian sections and organ transplants — at risk as it becomes harder to fight off infection.

“When Antibiotics Fail” estimated that by 2050, around 40 per cent of infections could be resistant to first-line antibiotics, contributing to the possible deaths of 400,000 Canadians at the hands of drug-resistant infections. It also predicted serious economic consequences, including $120 billion in hospital expenses and $388 billion in gross domestic product over the next 30 years.

Superbugs have been labelled a global health threat by the World Health Organization.