Pigs 'can aid war on superbugs'

An anti-bacterial agent which occurs naturally in pigs may provide an extra weapon in the war on hospital superbugs, researchers said today.

The molecule comes from a family of protective proteins called cathelicidins which ward off infection in some animals. Now scientists say it could help prevent skin infection in humans.

Each year, an estimated 5,000 patients in Britain die as a result of infections they have picked up in hospital. The most notorious of these is MRSA.

With superbugs on the rise, scientists are searching for possible alternatives to conventional antibiotics.

A research team led by Dr Richard Gallo, from the University of California in San Diego, investigated cathelicidins.

Humans only have one cathelicidin gene, whereas pigs, cows and horses have several. The research suggests that having more than one kind of cathelicidin offers extra protection.

Dr Gallo's team found that when the pig cathelicidin was added to the human version, more of the streptococcus bacteria which cause infection were killed.