GM2002.1.149.1 Bath Thermometer
In September of 2023 Dr. Michael Macey, a member of the Astrobiology OU group, approached Droitwich Spa town counsellor Bob Brookes after he learned of his involvement in the ‘Save our Brine Baths’ campaign. Macey, who studies extremophiles (bacteria that live in extreme conditions), was keen to get involved and study the qualities of Droitwich’s brine baths. The counsellor, who is also keen on saving the baths, eagerly facilitated Macey’s collection of samples from the brine. Dr Macey’s research usually is in countries such as Iceland or Canada however he was very intrigued by the possibility of the town’s brine harbouring microbes capable of producing new antibiotics.
The discovery of new antibiotics has become crucial to medicine as antibiotic resistance poses severe threats to medical treatments. In October 2023 Dr Macey and his colleagues visited the brine well at tower hill, near Droitwich, to collect further samples. More recently in March 2024 Mara Leite, another researcher involved in the project, isolated three strains of salt-adapted microbes from the brine. Remarkably these strains were able to inhibit the growth of various hospital associated pathogens, including MRSA (which is responsible for many difficult-to-treat infections in humans). Researchers are now focused on identifying the specific chemicals and genes responsible for the antibacterial activity. While much work remains these early results are promising and suggest that Droitwich’s brine could play a key role in developing powerful new antibiotics to combat resistant infections.
Link to recent Droitwich Standard article: https://droitwichstandard.co.uk/news/droitwich-spas-brine-could-be-key-to-combatting-resistant-infections/#:~:text=Droitwich%20Spa's%20brine%20could%20be,resistant%20infections%20%2D%20The%20Droitwich%20Standard
Link to BBC Sounds interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0jrs2qr#:~:text=Droitwich%20Spa's%20historic%20brine%20is,treat%20bacteria%20such%20as%20MRSA.
By Matt Davies, 2024
Student at Prince Henry’s High School, Evesham