A potential new treatment has been developed by combining natural manuka honey with a drug used to treat a fatal lung infection.
UK scientists have developed a potential nebulization treatment using manuka honey to clear a drug-resistant lung infection that can be fatal in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.
“The use of this potential treatment combining amikacin and manuka honey shows great promise”
Aston University researchers combined the antibiotic amikacin with manuka honey as a novel treatment for Mycobacterium abscessus.
Using the manuka honey combination resulted in an eight-fold reduction in the antibiotic dosage, they said in the journal Microbiology.
It is known about many medicines but now another virtue has been discovered.
CF is a genetic condition affecting around 10,800 people and one in every 2,500 babies born in the UK. At the same time, bronchiectasis is a long-term condition where airways widen, leading to excess mucus build-up.
They then tested the antibiotic amikacin with manuka honey to determine the dose needed to kill the bacteria.
Combining manuka honey and amikacin together, they found that they could improve bacterial clearance even when using a lower drug dose, resulting in fewer life-altering side effects.
Whereas in the UK, out of 10,800 people living with CF, Mycobacterium abscissas infects 13% of all patients with the condition.
Currently, patients are given a cocktail of antibiotics, with 12 months or more of antimicrobial chemotherapy and often no cure.