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Researchers discovered the bacteria by chance. They should mainly study the bacteria on the skin that can cause serious infections, especially in premature babies.
Then a new type of bacteria appeared in the test tube.
Researchers have named it Staphylococcus borealis because it is found in the north and because it can adapt to a northern climate.
Rare discovery
New bacteria are not often detected.
– I don’t think a new species of staph has ever been discovered in Norway, says Pauline Cavanagh, one of the researchers behind the discovery, to forskning.no.
Staph are a type of bacteria that most people have on their skin, and some species can produce toxins in the body.
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I’m not sure what diseases it causes
Researchers don’t yet know what diseases the new bacteria can cause.
– At the moment, we believe that it is part of our normal flora, says Cavanagh.
This means that the bacteria are found in the body of most of us and that it usually cannot make us sick. However, it can be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems.
This includes the elderly, cancer patients, and premature babies.
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Discovered by chance
Extensive DNA testing led the researchers to find the new bacteria.
They concluded that the bacteria that was previously classified as Staphylococcus haemolyticus is actually the new bacteria Staphylococcus borealis.
– Now we are in a new era when it comes to discovering new bacteria, says Cavanagh.
Scientists can now, with relatively new technology, isolate all of the bacteria’s DNA. They then compare it to other bacteria, to see if any stand out.
The finding is published in the scientific journal International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
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Available all over the world
A collection of all known bacteria around the world is compiled into a database. This can be used by researchers, physicians, and biochemists when determining the species of bacteria.
– Now we have updated this database with the new bacteria, so that all clinical microbiologists can find it, says Cavanagh.
Researchers from the Arctic University of UiT Norway grew the bacteria in Petri dishes. Photo: UiT, Jonatan Ottesen
Already the day after doing this, doctors found the new bacteria in a sample from a patient.
Databases around the world are beginning to be updated to include the new bacteria.
Important for endurance
Pauline Cavanagh believes that Staphylococcus borealis is an important bacteria to know about.
– It is necessary with good diagnoses so that we can obtain the most correct treatment possible, he says.
– I think this is even more important in these times with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance that we have today.
In the coming weeks, doctors and microbiologists at St. Olav Hospital in Trondheim will conduct an experiment similar to the one in Tromsø.
– Then they can also find Staphylococcus borealis that has caused the disease, says Cavanagh.
(The article was first published by forskning.no)
Reference:
Pauline Cavanagh m.fl: Staphylococcus borealis sp. nov., isolated from human skin and blood. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. November 2020. Sammendrag.
