TAKING antibiotics can make us vulnerable to attack by tougher, antibiotic-resistant invaders, leading to nasty stomach bugs and the spread of dangerous infections in hospitals. Now a molecule has been found that could be mixed with antibiotics to thwart these harmful invasions.
The gut bacterium vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) has trouble taking root in a healthy intestine, but after a course of antibiotics it can multiply a thousand-fold and spread to the blood. The reason for this was thought to be that antibiotics kill not only their target bacteria but also harmless gut microbes, freeing up nutrients and niches that allow…
