Prevention And Treatment Of Bone Infection With CSA-90
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,983.00
Summary
Bone infections are a major challenge to treat, especially with the rise of drug resistant “superbugs”. We have access to a new agent, CSA-90, that has dual properties of being anti-microbial (antibiotic) and helps encourage bone growth. This project aims to expand upon our prior research and test CSA-90 for the treatment of chronic bone infections. We will also look at applying this technology to joint replacements and this drug may be particularly useful for coating orthopaedic implants.
Antibiotic Resistance And Multiple Antibiotic Resistance In Human Commensal Escherichia Coli In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$509,202.00
Summary
Antibiotic resistance, particularly resistance to all or nearly all of the antibiotics available for treatment is now very common and impacts heavily on the treatment of bacterial infections. This project will track resistance genes in reservoirs where antibiotic resistance genes may be present in high concentrations as these are a likely source of the resistance genes in disease-causing bacteria. One such reservoir, the bacteria in the intestines of healthy humans will be examined.
Mechanisms Of Stable Gene Inheritance In Multiresistant Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,357.00
Summary
Strains of Golden Staph bacteria resistant to many antibiotics are a major cause of serious hospital-acquired, and increasingly community-acquired, infections in Australia and around the world. The bacteria have mechanisms that cause efficient inheritance of resistance genes, even when antibiotics are no longer being used. This project will elucidate key aspects of such mechanisms so that treatments can be devised that interfere with the development and maintenance of resistance.
Horizontal And Vertical Transmission Mechanisms Of Staphylococcus Aureus Multiresistance Plasmids
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,993.00
Summary
Strains of Golden Staph bacteria resistant to many antibiotics are a major cause of serious hospital-acquired, and increasingly community-acquired, infections. The bacteria have mechanisms that cause efficient transmission of resistance genes to their offspring as well as to other strains. This project aims to elucidate key features of these mechanisms so that treatments can be devised that disrupt the maintenance and transfer of resistance, so as to prolong the effectiveness of antibiotics.
Redefining Antibiotic Resistance Plasmid Transfer In Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$735,585.00
Summary
Multidrug-resistant Golden Staph bacteria are a major health problem. Resistance develops rapidly because bacteria efficiently acquire/share resistance genes. Our discoveries suggest DNA transfer mechanisms are far more diverse and widespread than previously expected and this has wide-reaching implications for numerous pathogenic organisms. This project aims to define the prevalence and key features of each mechanism so treatments can be devised to disrupt the evolution and spread of resistance.
Structure, Formation And Evolution Of Multiple Antibiotic And Mercury Resistance Regions In Gram-negative Bacteria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,500.00
Summary
Antibiotic resistance and particularly resistance to several different antibiotics simultaneously is becoming alarmingly common in bacteria that cause infectious diseases in humans and animals. New antibiotics are proving slow to appear and the most obvious way to increase the effectiveness and the useful lifetime of existing antibiotics is though attempting to reduce the prevalence of resistant bacteria. This can only be done using good surveillance that allows the places where resistant bacter ....Antibiotic resistance and particularly resistance to several different antibiotics simultaneously is becoming alarmingly common in bacteria that cause infectious diseases in humans and animals. New antibiotics are proving slow to appear and the most obvious way to increase the effectiveness and the useful lifetime of existing antibiotics is though attempting to reduce the prevalence of resistant bacteria. This can only be done using good surveillance that allows the places where resistant bacteria and resistance genes are present in large numbers, e.g. in food-production animals, in hospitals, in the human gut or in the environment, to be identified. Very little data of this type is available internationally and even less for the Australian situation. Using recent knowledge of resistance genes and modern molecular techniques the work will identify which resistance genes and combinations of resistance genes confering resistance to antibbiotics used either in the clinic or administered to food-producing animals or both are found in Australian isolates. By examining multiply antibiotic resistant isolates from these two and other sources the flow of resistance genes and resistant bacteria between these two reservoirs will be tracked accurately. This will allow the sources relevant to difficult to treat or untreatable infections acquired in the hospital setting to be identified and appropriate action taken.Read moreRead less
Novel Therapeutic Strategy Against Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative Bacteria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,823.00
Summary
In the past two decades, there has been a marked decline in discovery and development of new antibiotics while there has been a remarkable increase in resistance to the currently available antibiotics. The growth in the number of resistant bacteria and lack of antibiotics available for treatment is very significant with gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Colistin, an old antibiotic that has been used little over the l ....In the past two decades, there has been a marked decline in discovery and development of new antibiotics while there has been a remarkable increase in resistance to the currently available antibiotics. The growth in the number of resistant bacteria and lack of antibiotics available for treatment is very significant with gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Colistin, an old antibiotic that has been used little over the last 40-50 years, has been 'taken off the shelf' and is now being used as a last line of defence to treat people with infections caused by these bacteria. Clearly, doctors and their infected patients will be in an even more precarious position than currently exists if resistance to colistin increases. We have discovered a novel therapeutic strategy that is able to reverse colistin resistance in P. aeruginosa. The studies proposed in this project will investigate this novel strategy across a range of multidrug-resistant bacteria and provide the information essential for rational use in patients. We propose that such a novel therapeutic strategy will provide a powerful weapon for the war on these 'superbugs'.Read moreRead less
Proof Of Concept Studies On A Novel Class Of Antibiotics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$199,700.00
Summary
The rise of drug-resistant superbugs is a major healthcare concern in hospitals across the world. New antibiotics are needed to combat infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to current drugs. One collaborative team of researchers is addressing the issue. They have discovered a new compound effective against Staphylococcus aureus, the cause of Golden Staph. Using a combination of scientific disciplines the team are now developing this compound into a new antibiotic.
Molecular And Genetic Basis Of Colistin Resistance In Acinetobacter Baumannii
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$526,878.00
Summary
Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacterium that causes hospital acquired infections which have become difficult to treat due to the bacteria developing resistance to most antibiotics in routine use. Colistin is now widely used as 'salvage' therapy in patients with these infections. Colistin resistance is currently low but is an emerging problem. As a first step in combating this problem this project will identify how this bacterium becomes resistant to colistin.