A common bacteria found in the human nose and on skin which can cause diseases like meningitis and pneumonia can be destroyed by another bacteria found in the nasal passage, researchers have found.
The discovery may help experts find new ways to control the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria, which has become more threatening in recent years because it has grown resistant to many powerful antibiotics.
One such strain is methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), a superbug that troubles doctors and public health experts because it is responsible for many infections that are hard to treat.
It is especially troublesome in hospitals where patients have open wounds, invasive devices, and weakened immune systems.
In a study conducted in Japan, the scientists examined 88 volunteers and found 60 of them did not carry S. aureus in their nasal cavities.
In an effort to find out why these 60 did not carry S. aureus, the researchers conducted further analysis that showed that they carried a subtype of Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), another bug which produces an enzyme that destroys S. aureus bacteria, they wrote in a paper published in Nature on Thursday.
"These findings indicated that in humans, the presence of inhibitory S. epidermis in the nasal cavity could be a potential determining factor for the absence of S. aureus colonization," wrote the team, led by Tadayuiki Iwase at the Jikei University in Tokyo, Japan.
Replying to questions from Reuters, Iwase said the enzyme destroyed multidrug-resistant strains such as MRSA.
This finding "could lead to the development of novel therapeutics to prevent S. aureus colonization and infection," he wrote.
About 20 percent of the human population are long-term carriers of S. aureus, which is often found in the nasal cavity.
The bacteria can cause minor illnesses, such as pimples and boils, to more serious diseases like meningitis, pneumonia, and septicemia. Once an infection takes hold it is very difficult to clear, especially when caused by drug-resistant strains.
© 2010 Reuters. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
