A group of Japanese researchers said Saturday they have discovered the first substance that makes a toxin secreted from cholera bacteria harmless and are conducting further tests at a research institute in Bangladesh.
The group discovered that the substance was part of a food additive commonly used in Japan and Europe, said Masatoshi Noda, head of the group and a professor at Chiba University's graduate school of medicine.
The substance has no effect on the cholera vibrio bacteria itself, but reacts to a toxin secreted from it, Noda said, adding that the substance is therefore effective against cholera that is immune to antibiotics or vaccines.
"Theoretically speaking, (the substance) would not generate resistant strains and will become a new counter-infection measure," he said.
Noda said he will report the group's findings at a symposium to be organized by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in May.
People contract the disease when they consume food or water contaminated with the bacteria. They often die after suffering from symptoms including severe diarrhea, intestinal pain and dehydration.
Doctors say once cholera enters the body, it stimulates a cell enzyme and ties up with a protein, leading to the infection.
However, as the substance inhibits the process by directly linking to the cholera toxin, the functions of cells are not disturbed.
Noda said rabbits used in the tests were not taken ill after researchers administered the cholera bacteria and the substance.
The World Health Organization said about 140,000 people were infected with cholera worldwide last year. The number of those infected with the disease, however, is believed to be several times that figure.