Blue light destroys antibiotic-resistant staph infection

topic posted Sun, February 1, 2009 - 6:19 AM by  Mark
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Blue light destroys antibiotic-resistant staph infection


www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-30 06:31:44 Print

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Two common strains of methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA, were virtually eradicated in the
laboratory after being exposed to a wavelength of blue light, according to a
paper published online on Thursday ahead of print in Photomedicine and Laser
Surgery.

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections represent an important and
increasing public health threat. At present, fewer than 5 percent of
staphylococcal strains are susceptible to penicillin, while approximately 40
percent to 50 percent of Staph aureus isolated have developed resistance to
newer semisynthetic antibiotics such as methicillin as well.

Researchers from the New York Institute of Technology had previously
demonstrated that a process called photo-irradiation using 405-nm light destroys
MRSA strains grown in culture. In the current study, the authors exposed
bacterial colonies of MRSA to various doses of 470-nm light, which emits no UV
radiation.

The two MRSA populations studied -- the US-300 strain of CA-MRSA and the
IS-853 strain of HA-MRSA -- represent prominent community-acquired and
hospital-acquired strains, respectively.

The authors report that the higher the dose of 470-nm blue light, the more
bacteria were killed. High-dose photo-irradiation was able to destroy 90.4
percent of the US-300 colonies and the IS-853 colonies. The effectiveness of
blue light in vitro suggests that it should also be effective in human cases of
MRSA infection, and particularly in cutaneous and subcutaneous infections.

"It is inspiring that an inexpensive naturally visible wavelength of light
can eradicate two common strains of MRSA. Developing strategies that are capable
of destroying MRSA, using mechanisms that would not lead to further antibiotic
resistance, is timely and important for us and our patients," says Chukuka S.
Enwemeka, first author of the study.

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V
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posted by:
Mark
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