A study published by the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy (IMII) of Chile determined the way in which bacteria can cause diseases

The work, published by the scientific journal Scientific Report, and developed in Chile by researchers from IMII, was able to determine the mechanisms of action of different large bacteria that cause infectious diseases in the human body.

Leer en español: Este podría ser el fin de la salmonella, la cólera y otras bacterias

This research is of great importance, since it is an advance in the area of ​​the fight against the contagion of strains whose treatment becomes ineffective in the face of bacterial resistance developed. In this way, the study is a warning that seeks to progress in the fast diagnosis to avoid consequences that affect global health, food security and the development of nations.

What is the study about?

The researchers were able to determine how the bacteria manage to leave their original chromosome and transfer infectious genes to other microorganisms.

Dr. Susan Bueno of the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy (IMII) of Chile, in an interview for the EFE Agency , said that the study describes "how salmonella exists in groups of genes that are able to 'get out' of the chromosome, an event which is important when the bacteria is causing an infection"; she adds that this characteristic is common in different pathogens that cause infections in humans and even in plants.

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Thus, the study, done by about 8 IMII researchers, reports how different islands of genes that code the traits of the bacteria, are able to modify the molecular machinery and thus, open the way for the genetic separation of the bacterial chromosome and spread causing virulence.

The analysis identified that a bacterium similar to "ROD-21", which causes the spread of salmonella, is able to leave the bacterial chromosome to cause infection in other microorganisms, a process that can define the severity of a disease.

In the laboratory "we have observed that salmonella has the same capacity to multiply the pathogenic bacteria that cause diseases," she said, noting that the populations most vulnerable to this type of infection are infants, older adults and people with immunological problems.

A project with a view to prevention and diagnosis

The study, led by Susan Bueno, seeks to be a first step that is the threshold for the characterization of diseases and the search for tools and treatments that stop the shell of resistance that many of these bacteria are generating against antibiotic treatment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), bacterial and other microorganism resistance is one of the greatest threats to global health in the 21st century, since this would represent the prevalence of infectious diseases and the increased risk of death in millions of people.

That is why one of the essential purposes of the study, using the first determinations, is to continue the research at a later stage, which would consist in the creation of a drug or molecule that inhibits the replication of bacterial genes.

"We are in the process of being able to identify these molecules to apply not only in salmonella, but also in cholera and other pneumonia-causing bacteria, for example, in addition to certain pathogens that affect plants," said Dr. Bueno for Agencia EFE.

LatinAmerican Post | Jorge Becerra

Translated from "Estudio chileno busca reducir infecciones bacterianas"

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