New cream against skin infections caused by resistant bacteria

Authors: Houda Ben-Miled, Maria Zardon Navarro, François Malouin, Marie-Odile Benoit-Biancamano

Article published in Porc Québec, September 2025, Volume 36, Pages 32 and 33

Skin infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are not just a problem for humans: animals, such as pigs, also suffer from them. A team of researchers from Quebec investigated this issue by testing a new molecule called PC1.

Common Causes of Skin Infections in Pigs

Two bacteria are often responsible for skin infections in pigs: Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus hyicus. They can cause a disease called exudative epidermitis. This disease causes painful lesions on the skin of infected pigs.

Maintaining the effectiveness of treatments

As these bacteria become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, a problem is becoming more and more persistent: the declining effectiveness of current treatments.

PC1 is a molecule capable of disrupting a key process in bacteria. Researchers in this project tested this molecule in the laboratory on 19 different strains of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

A cream and an oil containing PC1 were tested on mice and rabbits with skin infections to determine if the product was effective and safe.

Encouraging Results

PC1 was able to kill bacteria at very low doses. Therefore, the PC1-based cream proved highly effective in reducing infection. Treated animals showed less inflammation and tissue damage than those that did not receive the new treatment.

These results suggest a new treatment option for skin infections caused by resistant bacteria in animals. However, further studies will be needed before this can be achieved.

Another positive result was that no toxicity was observed during treatment. However, the researchers noted that the cream was not very stable at room temperature. In fact, the cream oxidizes within a few weeks. Therefore, modifications will be necessary before it can be used in the field.

This project was conducted by researchers from the Research Group on Infectious Diseases in Animal Production (GREMIP), the Swine and Poultry Infectious Diseases Research Center (CRIPA), and the Centre for Expertise and Clinical Research in Animal Health and Welfare (CERCL) at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Montreal, in collaboration with the University of Sherbrooke.