An international team of researchers has found a way to pierce the armour of the most dangerous class of bacteria, making them more vulnerable to existing antibiotics.
Professor Ian Henderson, from the University of Queensland, says gram-negative bacteria, which includes strains like E. Coli., have a double membrane protective layer, which makes them particularly resistant to antibiotics, and the new discovery will help fight emerging superbugs.
Professor Henderson says there had been a 300 per cent increase in deaths from infection in Australia since the 1980s, and if current trends continue as many as 10 million people could die globally each year from antibiotic resistant infection by 2050.