A class of medications used to deworm cattle, goats, and sheep may also be effective for the treatment of one of the most common causes of bacterial infection in humans: Clostridium difficile.
In the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in San Diego, CA, reveal that some forms of the deworming medications salicylanilides stopped the growth of numerous C. difficile strains – even some that cause recurrent infections.
C. difficile is a bacterium that triggers inflammation of the colon, causing symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal pain.
According to a 2015 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), C. difficile is estimated to have caused almosthalf a million infections in a single year in the United States, and around 29,000 patients died from the infection within 30 days of diagnosis.
For primary C. difficile infection, antibiotic treatment is often the first port of call. But the CDC note that infection returns for around 20 percent of patients, due to the emergence of what are called “hypervirulent” strains… Read More>>
Source: Medical News Today
