Trinity scientists working to develop MRSA vaccine

IRISH scientists are developing a vaccine against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).

Trinity College Dublin Prof Tim Foster and his group have been working on the mechanisms of the hospital-acquired superbug since the early 1990s with funding from the Health Research Board (HRB) and Wellcome trust.

In 1994 they isolated a surface protein from the bacterium called clumping factor A (ClfA) that binds to a blood protein called fibrinogen, a key step of the infection process.