China has been proactive in its response to the threat of antibiotics-resistant "supergerms," a health issue that has been highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In late February, WHO published a list of 12 groups of supergerms threatening to change from easily-treatable infections into incurable diseases. According to the agency, the 12 groups of bacteria were ranked based on the severity of the diseases they cause, how easily they spread, how many drugs still work against them and how many new ones are already being developed, AFP reported.

“Antibiotics-resistant bacteria are extremely smart and tenacious. Bacteria usually develop in four ways to get around the use of antibiotics, including pumping and degrading those antibiotics. Bacteria can also release modifying enzymes to disarm antibiotics, or evade the blockade created by antibiotics. This is why antibiotics-resistant bacteria usually develop less than two years after a new medicine’s release,” explained Professor Huang Qingshan from Fudan University's School of Life Sciences. Huang also pointed out that the new bacteria are usually stronger, making treatment even harder.

Since the 1990s, a Chinese research team led by Huang and Lu Wanying, an expert with the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, has been attempting to target supergerms with antimicrobial enzymes and antibiotic peptides, instead of the more traditional antibiotics.

Having already found some success, the team is now working on a new type of enzyme, which is expected to combat prioritized supergerms on the WHO list, the People’s Daily reported.

China has issued several top-level guidelines to encourage innovative research of supergerms and their treatment. In August 2015, national health authorities released a guideline on the use of antibiotics. Last August, 14 ministry-level bodies jointly released a national action plan to curb antibiotics-resistant bacteria. In February, the Ministry of Agriculture unveiled a plan to monitor antibiotics-resistant bacteria that originate from animals.