Scientists Just Caught Bacteria Using a Never-Before-Seen Trick to Avoid Antibiotics - ScienceAlert

Thanks in part to antibiotic overuse, superbugs have been accumulating multiple resistant tactics, making them extremely difficult to treat.

This bacteria commonly cause sore throats and skin infections, but it can also lead to systemic infections like scarlet fever and toxic shock syndrome.

"When looking at an antibiotic commonly prescribed to treat Group A Strep skin infections, we found a mechanism of resistance where, for the first time ever, the bacteria demonstrated the ability to take folates directly from its human host when blocked from producing their own.".

In this case, the bacteria are only resistant to the antibiotics when they're causing an actual infection inside our bodies.

This mechanism suggests antibiotic resistance is far more varied than researchers previously realized and emphasizes the need to establish more diverse treatments against bacteria.