Scientists map hospital superbug's genome

The genome of the superbug that has put hospital authorities across the globe on alert has been mapped, raising hopes that scientists could finally tame the bacterial bandit that has been linked to Australian deaths, writes Bridie Smith for The Age.

Known as Klebsiella pneumoniae, the superbug is resistant to antibiotic treatment and kills about half of those it infects. In Victoria, a strain called KPC has already been detected in 57 people and is potentially behind the deaths of two patients at St Vincent's Hospital last year.

The findings by an international team of researchers, including Melbourne University Bio21 scientists, established the bacteria had 30,000 genes – 10,000 more than the human genome. Of these, just 1,800 were common to the 300 strains studied. These shared genes are the ones that researchers will need to target when designing an antibiotic treatment for the bacterial infection or a vaccine to prevent it taking hold.
Full report on The Sydney Morning Herald site