The treatment of serious infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) is complicated by the development of antibiotic resistance.
Using whole genome DNA sequencing of strains obtained from patients during persistent blood stream infections, senior research fellows from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology have discovered how Staph can make one small change to its DNA and then develop resistance to the last-line antibiotic, vancomycin.
The head of Microbiology at Austin Health is concerned by the implications of this discovery for patients, worrying that this mutation additionally makes Staph more resistant to other last-line antibiotics (even those which have yet to be used), with these therapies problematic in terms of side effects and increased toxicity.
Read more at Melbourne University/ Austin Health