Scientists at Swansea University in Wales have discovered that maggots may hold the key to fighting superbugs.
The have found a new type of antibiotic in maggot secretions capable of tackling up to 12 different strains of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), as well as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Clostridium difficile (C.diff).
Around 20 maggots produce one drop of a purified antibiotic.
The new antibiotic Seraticin comes from the maggot secretions of the common green bottle fly and scientists hope to develop it into an injection, pill or ointment.
The antibiotic has been purified and studied and the next step will be to complete the identification of the compound and develop a way to synthesise it; then it can be tested on human cells and eventually used in clinical trials to determine its value as a new antibiotic.
Infections involving MRSA cause suffering, amputations and death, and cost health authorities worldwide billions each year.
Between 2002 and 2006, 6,201 deaths in England and Wales involved MRSA and 15,683 deaths in England and Wales involved C. diff.
An estimated 200,000 people contract potentially fatal infections in Australian hospitals at a cost of $20 million every year, and a recent report has warned that superbugs have the potential to overwhelm hospital systems.
The problem lies in the rapid rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and means that scientists urgently need to find a solution and using live maggots on infected wounds is an ancient but speedy method of tackling infection.
Chronic infected wounds which have failed to respond to treatment for as long as 18 months, often begin to clear infection in a short time when maggots are applied to the wound and they have even been acknowledged for avoiding limbs being amputated.