Antihelminthic compound bithionol could treat MRSA infection

INDICATION: Staphylococcus

The antihelminthic bithionol could be repurposed to treat methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections. In bacterial growth assays, bithionol reduced growth of three MRSA strains and a vancomycin-resistant S. aureus strain with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 1 μg/mL, comparable to the potency of daptomycin and vancomycin. At 10x MIC, the antihelminthic killed one of the MRSA strains as quickly as daptomycin and faster than vancomycin. In mice with deep-seated chronic MRSA thigh infection, the compound in conjunction with gentamicin killed 90% of MRSA persister cells while vancomycin, gentamicin or the two antibiotics in combination did not significantly reduce bacterial load...