New breakthrough in the fight against drug resistance

British scientists claim to have achieved a breakthrough in the race to defeat the global threat of drug-resistant bacteria.

Experts have come close to the prospect of modulating new antibiotics - (Photo: AFP)

In a study that could pave the way for completely new strains of drugs to combat current super-drug resistance, British scientists have found the 'Achilles heel' of a key group of bacteria, including E.coli and the "gods" kill others.

Antibiotics are listed as one of the most terrible threats to mankind today, aligned with climate change and the global terrorist movement.

In Europe, an estimated 25,000 people die each year from infections because of resistant bacteria.

Now, scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have found a way to allow drugs to attack the cell membranes of one of the three main bacterial groups.

According to Independent newspaper, experts say, if a drug is made to attack molecules that make up the cell membrane of bacteria, the body's immune system can exterminate invading bacteria.