Winchester and Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine has given his backing to a new weapon in the war against superbugs.
The Conservative MP pledged to speak to health ministers about the new approach to fighting infection and tackling drug-resistance pioneered in Hampshire. The technology is called Reactive Oxygen. The first product, evaluated at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, is Surgihoney RO.
The bioengineered medical honey is now available on NHS prescription for the treatment of infected wounds. Leading scientists and surgeons at the University of Southampton are investigating if it can be used to treat chronic rhinosinusitis.
Laboratory tests show Surgihoney RO is effective against a wide spectrum of bacteria, including drug-resistant MRSA and E.coli. It works by generating oxygen free radicals deadly to bacteria.
Mr Brine was briefed by Dr Matthew Dryden, clinical microbiologist and director of infection at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who led the early research and Ian Staples, chief executive of the British biotech company that developed it.
The global threat from multi-drug resistant bacteria has forced researchers to look for alternatives to antibiotics.
Mr Brine, Parliamentary Private Secretary to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said: "Resistance to antibiotics is now a very real and worrying threat. Tackling this crisis is a priority for the UK Government and World Health Organisation.
"Reactive Oxygen is a British medical innovation which appears to have huge potential for wound care and infection control. We need new ideas to tackle this crisis. I am delighted it has been pioneered in my constituency."
Dr Dryden said: "Surgihoney RO is active against all the resistant bacteria tested. It won't replace the need for antibiotics but it can act in place of antibiotics in eradicating pathogens in wounds to reduce inflammation and prevent further spread of infection. The potential of Reactive Oxygen in controlling some deeper respiratory and urinary infections is under investigation. This is a very exciting development."
Surgihoney RO was clinically evaluated at several centres, including Winchester's Royal Hampshire County Hospital, where it improved healing of challenging wounds, such as leg and foot ulcers. The peer-reviewed research was published in this month's (March) Journal of Wound Care.
A separate study by the National Institute for Health Research at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham has demonstrated Surgihoney RO prevents colonies of bacteria, or biofilms, in slow-healing wounds that make them difficult to treat with antibiotics. The laboratory research was published in the Journal of Wound Care February 2016.
Pictured; Ian Staples, chief executive of British biotech company Matoke Holdings Ltd, Dr Matthew Dryden, clinical microbiologist at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Steve Brine at Portcullis House in Parliament
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