Icky Maggots Could Actually End Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug

Maggots may be disgusting and creepy to most people, but these small icky larvae could actually provide solution to the antibiotics-resistant bacteria. Researchers from Swansea University have found out that green bottle fly maggots, Lucilia sericata, have superbug-killing secretions.

"We knew, anecdotally and from past studies, that maggots were working to kill bacterial infections in wounds," Dr. Yamni Nigam, lead researcher of the Swansea Maggot Research group told Reuters.

As reported by Science Daily, maggots have long been a wonder for scientists for its ability to heal wounds by secreting antimicrobial factors. Laboratories have been using maggot debridement therapy (MDT), in which sterile, lab-raised green bottle fly larvae are applied to non-healing wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers.

Now, the maggots are once again under the telescope to see if their healing power could combat antibiotics-resistant bacteria such as the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

"We are quite in a desperate state at the moment. The world is really running out of antibiotics because of the evolution of resistance," Nigam told Global News in a separate interview.

Global News added on its report that Nigam and her team identified a molecule in the maggot secretion which they called Seraticin. The molecule, which can be extracted by leaving sterile maggots in clean water overnight could be the key to killing the superbug.

"Within those collections, which are quite dark brown in colour, there is a very active tiny antibiotic. Then we go into the process of filtering that out," she explained.

The team's aim is to separate the molecule from the secretion to study it further. Once the structure of the molecule is identified, they will go on and test it against species of bacteria. The team is now eyeing on working with a leading British university to take the research to the next level.

World Health Organization notes that by 2050, 10 million people would have died from the superbug.