Honey 'New Cure' for Hospital Superbug

Evening Herald (Ireland), 8/27/2007

Honey may be the new cure for MRSA, according to a study which has examined the healing benefits of the substance.

The hospital superbug may be targeted with Active Manuka Honey, which comes from New Zealand and is believed to have anti-bacterial properties. The new study examined the healing properties of the honey, testing it on over 100 patients suffering from chronic leg ulceration.

The effects of the honey were compared to standard hydrogel, for the effective cleansing and healing rates of wounds.

After the 12 week treatment period it was discovered that the group treated with honey experienced a higher rate of debridement, that is the removal of dead, damaged and infected tissue. They also experienced faster healing and reduced infection than the group treated with the standard gel.

The study also discovered "striking" results about the effectiveness of honey against MRSA. "Of ten wounds that were infected with MRSA at the start of the study, seven of the wounds showed no presence of the bacteria after just four weeks of treatment with Manuka Honey," the study's primary investigator and a clinical nurse from Sligo, Georgina Gethin said…

MRSA is a bacteria strain resistant to some of the most powerful antibiotics available.