Poo transplant: 'Poo pills' and the fight against superbugs
You might think of it as just some stinky brown waste but scientists are finding lots of useful ways to use human poo.The latest is in the fight against superbug infections - infections that don't respond to antibiotics - using pills filled with freeze-dried faeces. The idea is that stool samples packed with good bacteria from healthy people are put into a pill, taken by someone with a superbug infection and the healthy bacteria will help to flush out the superbugs.According to the UK Health Security Agency, antibiotic resistant infections are on the rise but Dr Blair Merrick who tested the pills says: "We could potentially, in the future, replace antibiotics with microbiome [therapies] - that's the big picture, so there's a lot of potential."
Why are superbugs a problem?
Humans have been using antibiotics to treat infections for nearly 100 years. But as taking them became more common in recent years, sometimes in situations where they weren't needed, some strains of bacteria have developed a resistance to types of antibiotics. It means they can be difficult to treat and life-threatening. According to the NHS, the biggest worry is that new strains of bacteria will eventually also become resistant to antibiotics.
How does a poo transplant work?
Poo samples from healthy donors are tested to make sure there are no harmful bugs and undigested food is removed before it's freeze dried into a powder. That's then put into a pill which dissolves in the bowel to released the poopy powder. The study, which was carried out at Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London, suggests the superbugs are flushed out of the bowel and replaced by healthy gut bacteria. Poo transplants like this aren't a new thing. They've already been successfully used in treating Clostridium difficile (C. diff) which is a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhoea, stomach ache, loss of appetite and it can also make a person feel sick.Studies are also looking at poo transplants as a treatment for liver disease.
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