Less than a century after the start of the "antibiotic era" that began with the discovery of penicillin in 1928, researchers are scrambling to find new antimicrobial agents that can be used to treat pathogens that are resistant to all available drugs. Many such multi-drug-resistant microbes are a major cause of infection of hospitalized patients with weakened immune systems.

Nasia Safdar, MD, PhD (pictured at top), associate professor, Infectious Disease and vice chair for research, was interviewed about research on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) involving Clostridium difficile (referred to as C. diff), which often infects the colon of patients after they have been admitted to the hospital.

The article focused on studies by MD/PhD student Anna Barker, who is co-advised by Dr. Safdar and Oguzhan Alagoz, PhD, professor, College of Engineering. The trio are collaborating to use mathematical modeling to simulate transmission of C. diff in clinical settings and identify possible interventions.

The mathematical model allows researchers to estimate success rates of interventions. "We found that the two most effective interventions were daily room cleaning with a sporicidal disinfectant and the C. diff. screening of patients' stool samples when they are first admitted to the hospital," said Dr. Alagoz.

The article also describes another research project on antimicrobial peptides by UW-Madison chemical engineers Sean Palecek, PhD, professor, and David Lynn, PhD,professor, who have teamed up with UW-Madison chemistry professor Samuel Gellman, PhD. To test some of the peptides they have discovered, that team has collaborated with Dr. Safdar and David Andes, MD, professor and head, Infectious Disease, on experiments that found a slow-release antimicrobial peptide reduced the severity of yeast (C. albicans) infection in a rat model.

Resources:

• "New weapons against antibiotic-resistant pathogens," MedicalXPress, March 7, 2018