Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

An abandoned antibiotic makes a comeback to fight a common illness

Hygromycin A doesn’t work well against most bacteria, but it shines as a treatment for Lyme disease.
Coloured scanning electron micrograph of the spirochaete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi

The bacterium Borreliella burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, falters when treated with an antibiotic produced by another bacterial species. Credit: Eye of Science/Science Photo Library

The bacterial infection called Lyme disease is difficult to treat, can inflict lasting nerve damage and affects almost 500,000 people annually in the United States alone. Now tests in mice show that an antibiotic that had been sitting on the shelf for decades blocks the bacterium that causes Lyme — without the serious side effects of current treatments1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 598, 238 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02716-y

References

  1. Leimer, N. et al. Cell https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.09.011 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links