Team shoos away superbugs with puffs of powder

Nanosized antibiotics could be the answer to superbugs.--Courtesy University of Sydney

Inhaled antibiotics could be a breath of fresh air for the treatment of respiratory infections, particularly ones caused by resistant bacteria, according to a researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia. Respiratory infections are increasingly being blamed on resistant bacteria (so-called superbugs), and the aggressive antibacterial agents needed to eliminate them have some unpleasant side effects, including severe diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and even irreversible organ damage. A team at the university is developing powder inhalers delivering antibiotic nanoparticles, and believes that these might be a faster, safer and cheaper way of treating respiratory infections. Press release