Bandages to help fight MRSA

STITCHES and dressings laced with bacteria-killing viruses could help stop the spread of superbug MRSA in operating theatres, scientists said today.

Researchers have developed a way of bonding infection-fighting agents to material such as nylon.

The tiny beads work by growing inside the bug-causing bacteria then bursting out to attack others, while leaving healthy cells alone.

Sutures – the hospital thread used to stitch up patients during operations – could host the viruses, reducing the chance of patients developing an infection.

Similarly, wound dressings impregnated with the agents would prevent the spread of bacteria.

Tests saw the devices kill 96% of MRSA strains from patients in three different hospitals.

The research is being presented at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting at Edinburgh International Conference Centre today.

Janice Spencer, from the University of Strathclyde, said: "Some bacteria-specific viruses were used in the past, but their use died out when antibiotics like penicillin and methicillin became widely available."