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5. In The News - Honey Holds Key to Killing Off Superbug

 

 

 

By Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent

More can be found at telegraph.co.uk

 

British scientists have turned to an old folk remedy to treat

MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant superbug rampant in British

hospitals.

 

Researchers at Insense, a biotechnology company near Bedford,

have extracted the key medical properties of honey and applied

them to a dressing that promises to revolutionise the treatment

of wounds.

 

Independent analysis by a team at the Centre for Biomedical

Sciences at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, has

confirmed that the dressing - known as Zymagel - is highly

successful at killing bacteria in a wound and preventing further

infection. The polymer also mimics the moisturising properties

of honey, allowing it to stay on for days.

 

The product could save hundreds of lives and sharply reduce the

soaring cost of hospital-acquired infections - MRSA kills an

estimated 5,000 patients a year in Britain.

 

According to the National Audit Office, a further 100,000 may be

infected, costing the NHS £1 billion a year. Britain has the

highest rate of MRSA in Europe. In a study last year, 46 per cent of

samples collected in British hospitals contained the superbug.

 

This compared with 38 per cent in Greece, 20 per cent in Belgium

and just three per cent in Sweden and Denmark.

 

The greatest source of spread in hospitals is doctors and nurses

who fail to wash their hands after treating patients. The risk of infection

is increased in Britain because of the common practice of moving patients

from bed to bed.

 

The new dressing consists of a top layer impregnated with glucose, which

diffuses into a special polymer sheet placed in contact with the wound.

Enzymes similar to those in honey convert the glucose into hydrogen

peroxide, which kills any bacteria.

 

Professor Paul Davis, who led the research and development

programme at Insense, said that tests comparing the new dressing

with conventional treatment will begin later this year, and the

product could be available in hospitals within two years.

 

The ability of honey to destroy bacteria and speed healing has

long been recognised in traditional medicine, with Aristotle

recommending its use " as a salve for sore eyes and wounds " .

 

For more information on MRSA, please see this week's Keating

Perspective:

http://www.finalwarningthebook.com/perspective.shtml

 

 

Want more news? Visit our Daily News section!

http://www.finalwarningthebook.com/news.shtml

 

 

 

 

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Many have photographic memories - very few have film!

http://www.beckwithfamily.com

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