Disarming the superbugs: antivirulence drugs as an alternative against bacterial infections

Superbugs are microorganisms that have evolved and developed the ability to resist antibiotics.The spread of these pathogens is a serious health problem, causing diseases that are difficult to treat.In addition to antimicrobial resistance, superbugs have several virulence factors that are essential for establishment and invasion during infections, so blocking these tools becomes a potential therapeutic target.In recent years, the development of antivirulence drugs has attracted increasing scientific and clinical interest.Antivirulence drugs are molecules that have the ability to inhibit the production of one or more virulence factors of pathogens, thus attenuating their pathogenicity and infectivity.This review aims to describe the antivirulence drugs reported to combat bacteria of clinical priority.