Federal government provides funding for research into antibiotic resistance

REGINA – The federal government says it will provide $1.1 million to the University of Regina to research antibiotic resistance.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says there is growing concern worldwide that the drugs have lost their ability to effectively control or kill bacteria that make people sick.

The situation has created an urgent demand for new treatments for bacterial infections such as pneumonia.

Dr. Mohan Babu, an assistant professor at the university, is working to understand how interaction between genes contributes to drug resistance.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is funding the project.

Babu’s work is one of 491 projects funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in 2016

“The clock is clearly ticking. It’s an issue that the world scientific community recognizes as a matter of urgency,” Goodale said Friday as he announced the funding in Regina.

“Bacteria is constantly evolving and any antibiotic treatment in the clinics actually is not working,'” said Babu. “Penicillin … is not even working anymore, because of the antibiotic resistance to new bacterial strains that are emerging.”

Goodale suggested research is critical if antibiotics are to continue to be an option in medical treatment.

“If we want to have the benefit of antibiotics, we’ve got to understand … how to use these drugs and pharmaceuticals in a way that is safe and healthy.”