Veni Vidi Vici

Multidrug resistance of microbes poses a serious global threat to human health. Such resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae significantly reduce therapeutic options for the treatment of Klebsiella-induced, potentially fatal pneumonia or sepsis. Pavel Kovarik and his team at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL), a joint venture of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna, together with colleagues at Queen's University Belfast now report new insights into how immune cells communicate at the site of infection and join forces in the fight against Klebsiella infections. Their results, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, might be used for the development of alternatives to ineffective anti-microbial drugs. The inappropriate or excessive use of anti-microbial agents in past decades has propelled the emergence and spread of multidrug resistant microbial pathogens. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency, each year about 25.000 patients in the EU die from infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria. Globally, 700.000 people per year die due to antimicrobial resistance. The rise of superbugs Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report on anti-microbial resistance, with a special emphasis on antibiotic resistance of so-called "superbugs". Such bacteria pose the greatest threat to human health due to their resistance to several different antibiotics. Among these superbugs is Klebsiella, which can cause severe and often fatal infections of the bloodstream and lungs. Klebsiella has been reported to be resistant to common classes of antibiotics and to a great extent also to carbapenems, the last resort to treat severe nosocomial infections. Treatment options beyond common antibiotics