A medical research carried out by the University of Costa Rica has proven that there is a kind of bacteria that lives in the fur of sloths, and produces antibiotics, which keeps the disease away from it. Scientists are currently asking the question about the possibility of humans benefiting from this discovery.
It has been proven that Costa Rican sloths contain bacteria in their fur that produce antibiotics that keep diseases away from the animal, so could this discovery have an application to humans?
Researcher Max Chavarria of the University of Costa Rica is trying to answer this question after discovering the fur of these exotic tropical mammals is a unique biome of insects, fungi, algae and bacteria in a delicate balance that prevents diseases.
“If you look at a sloth’s fur, you’ll see movement, mites, different kinds of insects,” says Chavarria, the scientist who led the study. Systems that control them. There must be other organisms, these microorganisms, that control pathogens.”
Publishing Chavarria’s discovery in the scientific journal Environmental Microbiology, Chavarria wonders if his discovery might have future uses in medicine to help combat antibiotic resistance in humans.
The sloth is very symbolic in Costa Rica, and there are two species of it in the country. These animals live in the forests of the Caribbean coasts in a relatively hot climate, with temperatures ranging from 22 to 30 degrees Celsius.
The number of this animal is declining, according to an international organization. Sloths also live in the jungles of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
