Researchers to Develop Antibiotics Against Potential Bioterrorism Agents
Michael Johnson, professor and director of the UIC Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have received a $4 million federal grant to develop new antibiotics to treat anthrax, tularemia and plague.
Anthrax, tularemia and plague are caused by naturally occurring bacteria classified as “category-A” agents that could be used in bioterrorism and biowarfare.
These microorganisms pose a risk to national security because they can be easily transmitted and disseminated, result in high mortality, have potential major public health impact and could cause panic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These infections can be treated with current antibiotics, but none is ideal, says Michael Johnson, professor and director of the UIC Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and lead researcher on the two-year grant. Only one antibiotic, doxycycline, can be used to treat more than one of the three diseases, he said.
Worse, it may be possible for terrorists to develop multi-drug resistant strains for all three diseases, Johnson said. (more…)
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