Rare Species' Poo Virus Shows Promise for Helping Diabetes Patients
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Jakarta – Viruses discovered in the poo of rare animals can help diabetes patients from limb amputations and save the £1 billion a year, researchers have suggested.
A team from the University of Sheffield stated naturally occuring viruses in the poo – known as bacteriophage of phages – could be included in dressings applied to untreatable ulcers with further research.
There are thousands of different types of phages, which selectively target and kill bacteria, even in instances when antibiotics don’t work. Phage therapy was first discovered in the early 20th century.
The research team, led by Professor Graham Stafford, used poo from various animals, including Guinea baboons, lemurs and Visayan pigs, which are housed at Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP).
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"Despite the smell, it turns out that the faecal matter of endangered species could hold the key to killing infectious bacteria that are otherwise resistant to antibiotics," the Chairman of molecular microbiology at the University of Sheffield, Professor Stafford said.
He continued that the team is working hard to develop the faecal matter into viable treatments for patiens whose next option is the loss of a toe, foot, or leg.
"Importantly, the treatment could also help reduce costs of about £1 billion per year to the NHS," Professor Stafford informed.
According to Diabetes United Kingdom, about 4.3 million people are living with a diabetes diagnosis.
NHS England estimates around 10% of patients will develop a foot ulcer at some point in their lives.
Professor Stafford said his team’s work ‘is part of a wider drive in UK bioscience to find new antimicrobials to combat the major global challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)’.
AMR, or antibiotic resistance, led to the death of about 1.27 million people across the world in 2019. Last month, the government announced a £210 million investment to fight the issue on a global scale.
A World Health Organization (WHO) report in April 2023 said that surveillance of antibiotic resistance in the European region, which includes data from 2021 shows a 'high percentage of resistance to last-line antibiotics' in several countries.
"We have been looking for new treatments to overcome antibiotic resistance for some time. We were also the first to look for viruses from feces in zoos. It's great that endangered species can contribute to a positive cause. This is why we should all conserve endangered animals," Professor explained.
