UK doctors are currently trialling so-called ‘poo pills’ in an attempt to eradicate dangerous superbug infections.
Doctors believe there are “really promising signals” that these pills, which contain freeze-dried faeces, could be a significant weapon against the increasing threat of superbug infections on global human health.
The stool samples, sourced from healthy donors, are teeming with beneficial bacteria.
Once ingested, these pills wage war on the super bugs by competing for food and space along the gut lining.
They either completely eliminate the super bugs or “reduce them down to a level that doesn’t cause problems”, according to Dr Merrick.
Super bugs are organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses that have developed resistance to antibiotics.
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Typically, healthcare professionals prescribe medication to inhibit the germ, allowing the immune system time to purge the germ from the body.
However, if the germ mutates to survive the medication, it becomes drug-resistant.
A trial involving 41 patients at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in London has laid the groundwork for a larger-scale study, showing encouraging signs, reports the Express.
Patients were administered pills made from faeces donated to a stool bank. These stool samples underwent testing to ensure they did not contain any harmful bugs, and undigested food was removed.
(Image: Getty)
The substance is then freeze-dried into a powder form and encapsulated. As the pill makes its way to the intestines, it dissolves, releasing its cargo.
“It’s very exciting. There’s a real shift from 20 years ago where all bacteria and viruses were assumed to do you harm; to now where we realise they are completely necessary to our overall health,” Dr Merrick observes.
Should the pills demonstrate efficacy against superbugs in more extensive studies, the team believes that they could serve as a means for both treatment and prevention among at-risk individuals.
