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TB Bacteria Hide from Antibiotics: A new study by IIT Bombay has revealed that TB bacteria cheat antibiotics by changing their outer lipid coating. In such a condition, 2 to 10 times more medicine is required to kill TB bacteria. This resistance is not due to gene mutation, but due to the rigid structure of their membrane. If the membrane is weakened, TB treatment can be more effective.
New Study on TB Bacteria: Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious disease caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This disease most affects the lungs and can occur in any part of the body. The most worrying thing is that TB disease spreads through air. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, other people can also become infected. If a person has symptoms like cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss and weakness for more than 2 weeks continuously, then he should get tested for TB. TB is treated with antibiotics. This disease can be fatal if not treated on time.
TB has remained a serious problem throughout the world for many decades. Despite all efforts, it has not been completely eliminated. IIT Bombay has conducted a study on this, which shows that Mycobacterium tuberculosis cheats antibiotics by changing its upper fat coating. Because of this, despite treatment, these bacteria persist in the body for a long time. This is the reason why despite antibiotics and large-scale vaccination drives, this disease remains a major cause of death. In the year 2023, more than 1 crore people in the world will be affected by TB and more than 12 lakh people will die from it. India has the highest number of infected people; More than 26 lakh patients were found here in 2024.
In this study published in the journal Chemical Science, it was discovered that the secret of being ineffective against the drug may be hidden in the membranes of TB bacteria. These membranes are complex walls made of fats or lipids that protect cells. When experts exposed Mycobacterium smegmatis bacteria to four TB drugs, rifabutin, moxifloxacin, amikacin and clarithromycin, the concentration of the drug required to stop 50 percent growth of the bacteria was 2 to 10 times higher in the dormant bacteria than in the active bacteria.
Explaining this, Professor Shobhana Kapoor of IIT Bombay said that the same medicine which was effective in the initial stage of the disease, but later on, a higher dose was required. This change was not caused by genetic mutation, which commonly occurs in antibiotic resistance. Decreased sensitivity to the drug may be related to the latent state of the bacteria and their membrane layers. The effect of drugs can be increased by weakening the outer membrane that traps antibiotics. If old medicines are also combined with a molecule that relaxes the outer membrane, then the effect of these medicines can be better.
