University of Missouri researchers get $1.2 million to study how to treat combat wound infections...

The United States Army has granted $1.2 million to a University of Missouri researcher to study combat wound infections. The research will focus on non-intravenous, topical and localized antibiotic treatments.
A team of researchers from the University of Missouri is working to address a longstanding issue on the battlefield—antibiotic resistant superbugs in combat wounds.

Hongmin Sun, an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at MU, and her team received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Army. Sun, who is leading the research, said many of the drug resistant infections require medical professionals to use strong antibiotics to treat them.

“Those very powerful, strong antibiotics tend to have lots of side effects that can be toxic to the patient,” Sun said.

Oftentimes the treatments lead to negative side effects like organ damage. In the U.S., nearly 3 million antimicrobial resistant infections occur each year, and roughly 35,000 people die from them according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sun hopes their research will change those odds.