Antibiotic-resistant germs succumb to princely frog attacks

Frog might cure disease

Carol Forsloff - The frog might end up to be man's best friend, suitable for a kiss and far, far more, as scientists find they fight antibiotic-resistant infections that threaten people around the world.

The frog may be a hero because its skin contains natural substances that can be the basis for a whole new family of antibiotics.

These findings were presented at the American Chemical Society. That saying, "Go kiss a frog," may turn out to be good advice after all as frogs, researchers say, can make a princely contribution to
humanity's battle to produce medicines to insulate against disease.

The frog-lovers at the American Chemical Society described the benefits of loving frogs and frogs
involvement with people to create from their natural substances a whole new genre of antibiotics.

Scientists have identified more than 100 antibiotic substances in the skins of different frog groups.
One of these effectively fights “Iraqibacter,” the bacterium responsible for drug-resistant infections in wounded soldiers.

The hope is that frog substances can combat bacteria like MRSA, a “superbug,” infamous for causing deadly outbreaks of infection among hospitalized patients.   It has spread to schools, nursing homes and day care centers.

This is important news as antibiotic resistant infections are said to be increasing in children and as scientists search for ways to reduce infections and disease.

How does the resistance to known drugs occur?  The CDC says that diseases have learned to "outsmart" the drugs we have now, hence the need to establish new ways of killing infections.  World leaders now point to antibiotic-reistant bacteria as "nightmare bacteria" that offer a "catastrophic threat" to people all over the world.

So research like the one about frogs is important in the process of finding new ways to cure diseases that everyone thought was cured by previous medications.