China's superbug vaccine enters clinical trials.

July 31, 2015 According to China’s Third Military Medical University, the People Republic of China is set to celebrate yet another innovative milestone as its first ever superbug vaccine enters the clinical test stage.

The vaccine was developed by a scientific team headed by Zou Quanming, director of the National Engineering Research Center for Immunological Products, in affiliation with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). It is targeted at Staphylococcus aureus, one of the antibiotic-resistant bugs which causes abscess and muscle necrosis.

Zou said, having studied the genome of the Staphylococcus aureus, scientists have extracted five immunogens.

“This vaccine can protect more than 85 percent of all vaccine recipients and is able to effectively fight against infections caused by the Staphylococcus aureus,”

According to him, Clinical trials will be conducted among susceptible hosts from ages 19 to 59 years old, and if it passes the trial, will be put into production within three to four years.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had earlier warned that bacteria resistant to antibiotic treatment are widespread across the world, with a report stating that “the problem is so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medicine.”

It also said: “A post-antibiotic era – in which common infections and minor injuries can kill – is a very real possibility for the 21st century“