In times like these, it can be useful to think of positive trends in global health. One such trend is the use of the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve problems in healthcare.
One such problem is the rise of new and powerful bacteria, which can cause widespread disease without antibiotics to kill them. By way of example, we as a society have not yet solved the problem of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs), including deadly strains MRSA and MSSA.
The smart folks at MIT attempted to work on this problem by designing a computer algorithm to search thousands of molecules for one that might have both strong antibacterial activity and have a chemical structure different than any existing antibiotics.
The algorithm found one the researchers decided to call halicin (based on HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey). Halicin was tested in a lab, and researchers found that it was able to kill many bacteria that have thus far been resistant to treatment, including C. difficile and E. coli.
Halicin was then tested on mice, and preliminary findings suggest it may be useful in humans. This is particularly exciting news because halicin acts on bacteria in a way different than other antibiotics. Researchers hope this will make it difficult for bacteria to develop a resistance to it.
Hopefully, with this and other similar discoveries, we can greatly reduce the risk of death and serious injury from bacterial infections. Perhaps in the near future, the standard of care will include the use of these medications, making all of us safer in the process.
You can read more about the exciting development here: Artificial intelligence yields new antibiotic
You can read prior coverage about hospital acquired infections here:
Coronavirus highlights the difficulty our society has with preventing the spread of infections, proving malpractice cases, Why are hospital-acquired infection medical malpractice cases so difficult?, Supergerm-zapping robots are a real thing – will really help reduce hospital acquired infections, and Hospital infections reduced by replacing plastic surfaces with copper.
