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BOB HIRSHON (host):
A vaccine against killer bacteria. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
Skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – or MRSA – can be life-threatening, in part because when bacteria can survive antibiotics, treatment options are limited. But researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that the a vaccine called NDV-3 mobilizes the body’s own immune system to fight M.R.S.A. instead. L.A. BioMed Institute infectious disease specialist Michael Yeaman says the vaccine is showing promise in early clinical trials.
MICHAEL YEAMAN (Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center):
This vaccine triggers the immune system to generate not only antibodies, but also to provoke the expresssion of naturally occuring antibiotic peptides that all humans have in their skin.
HIRSHON:
Yeaman hopes the vaccine will one day reduce the need for antibiotics that drive the evolution of antibiotic resistance. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.