Giant pandas may aid in fight against drug-resistant bacteria
The San Diego Zoo's newest panda cub crawls during his exam on Oct. 18. / San Diego Zoo
Giant pandas may be the source of a new antibiotic, according to scientists at Nanjing Agricultural University in China.
The Telegraph reported that a compound called cathelicidin-AM found in the giant panda's bloodstream has the ability to kill bacteria and fungi. The naturally-produced antimicrobial was able to kill bacteria in just one hour, compared to typically-used antibiotics which could take up to six hours. It was also shown to be effective against standard and drug-resistant bacteria strains.
The antibiotic may have evolved to help stop infections in giant pandas.
There are just 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild, according to Livescience. Diminishing natural habitat, low reproductive rates and climate change have all lowered the population.
The good news is that the giant panda antimicrobial can be made synthetically in the laboratory. Researchers analyzed the animals' DNA and were able to isolate a small molecule called a peptide.
Lead researcher Dr. Xiuwen Yan, who works at the Life Sciences College of Nanjing Agricultural University in China, told the Telegraph that antibiotic peptides found in genes are less likely to cause drug-resistance. There have been more than 1000 antimicrobial peptides found from animals, plants and microorganism, he added.
The discovery could prove important especially at a time when many officials are warning about the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. The World Health Organization (WHO)'s director-general Dr. Margaret Chan previously said at a conference in Copenhagen in March 2012 that overuse of antibiotics has become so common that if it continues, something common like a scraped knee or strep throat may become deadly. Research published by the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) during November 2012 showed that there has been a 30 percent rise in the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that causes urinary tract infections between 1999 and 2010.
- Less than half of Americans recognize antibiotic overuse as a problem
- Antibiotic resistance a growing problem for some parts of U.S.
- WHO: Antibiotic overuse so prevalent scraped knee could be deadly
"Under the pressure of increasing microorganisms with drug resistance against conventional antibiotics, there is urgent need to develop new type of antimicrobial agents," Yan said.
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With so much recent concern for drug-resistant bacteria causing necrotizing facitis, we might have supposed the livestock industry would have reduced its drug usage sharply. However, that hasn't happened yet. Despite an FDA voluntary compliance program to reduce drug use with livestock, most feed lot animals are still raised with antibiotics.
Consumers who resist drug over-prescription by their doctor do not suspect that their beef, chicken and pork are already steeped in antibiotics when slaughtered for market. So the grocery store, not medical professionals and their prescriptions, is the primary channel for antibiotics entering the human population.
Animals raised in high-concentration feed lots, and kept alive by heavy dosage of antibiotics, are a boon for pharmaceutical industry sales. In fact, some 80 percent of antibiotics used in America, by weight, is used on livestock.
The baby Panda file photo was cute, though.