MRSA Vaccine Shows Promise

Posted on October 31, 2006  Comments (3)

Superbug vaccine ‘shows promise’

A vaccine to guard against hospital superbug MRSA is a step closer, according to scientists. US researchers have developed a vaccine that protected mice from four potentially deadly strains of MRSA.

The team looked for a vaccine using a technique called “reverse vaccinology”, which builds on recent genetics advances.

It involved sifting through the genome of Staphylococcus aureus to hunt for proteins on the microbe that might spark the body’s immune system into action, producing protection against the bacteria.

The team identified four proteins that prompted a strong immune response, making them good targets for vaccines.

Related: CDC Urges Increased Effort to Reduce Drug-Resistant InfectionsEntirely New Antibiotic DevelopedDrug Resistant Bacteria More Common

More information on MRSA is available from the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

3 Responses to “MRSA Vaccine Shows Promise”

  1. CuriousCat: New and Old Ways to Make Flu Vaccines
    November 9th, 2007 @ 9:07 am

    “This vaccine can be produced in giant vats of living cells. Such a production method means it can be scaled up much faster than egg-based vaccines, making it more useful in a pandemic. Several versions have been tested successfully in people…”

  2. CuriousCat: MRSA Blows Up Defender Cells
    November 12th, 2007 @ 12:52 am

    “This elegant work helps reveal the complex strategy that S. aureus has developed to evade our normal immune defenses…”

  3. CuriousCat: Vaccine For Strep Infections
    March 7th, 2008 @ 11:15 am

    “immunization with a stabilized version of a protein found on Streptococcus bacteria can provide protection against Strep infections, which afflict more than 600 million people each year and kill 400,000…”

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