New Hopeful Antibiotics That Acts Like A “Trojan Horse”

A Trojan Horse is a story from the Trojan War about the subterfuge or trickery that the Greeks used to enter the independent city of Troy and win the war. It is something that uses tricks to gain admittance only to destroy.

Recently studies have shown that some bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics hence making it difficult to treat infectious diseases which could sometimes lead to death.

A new drug which acts like a Trojan horse has been developed and seems promising for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Tests on 448 people with a kidney or urinary infection indicate the drug was as effective as current treatments and specialists have said that it seems promising.

Trojan Horse. Photo: Medium

This drug just like the Trojan Horse smuggles the antibiotic into bacteria thereby destroying it. Whereas the Trojan horse was wood, in this case, iron is used to smuggle the antibiotic into the body.

According to Dr Simon Portsmouth, who led the international research, “During an acute infection, one of our innate immune responses is to create an iron-poor environment. “In response, bacteria increase their iron intake.”

The new antibiotic, cefiderocol, binds to iron and, in a deadly mistake, bacteria transport it past their defences and inside their cells. “Cefiderocol was found to be both safe and tolerable,” says Dr Portsmouth.

The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance made stark predictions for the future, including 10 million people dying every year from drug-resistant infections by 2050.

And there are not enough drugs to tackle this problem. Although the new antibiotics sound promising, more test will be carried out to ensure that the new antibiotic is as effective as required to tackle these infections.