MAD as it sounds, the latest weapon against superbugs might be a pill that destroys antibiotics.
When people take an antibiotic orally, most of it is absorbed into the blood through the upper gut. But some reaches the lower gut, where it cannot be absorbed. There it kills countless gut bacteria, upsetting the natural balance and often causing upset stomachs, a problem familiar to many who have taken antibiotics.
Worse still, as long as the antibiotic lingers in the gut, it allows resistant bacteria to thrive at the expense of other bugs. Weak or elderly patients in particular can suffer…
