According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 49-year-old woman Pennsylvania woman was diagnosed with a rare strain of E. coli that proved to be something called plasmid-mediated colistin resistance, or mcr-1.
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The US has reported its first case of a patient with a bug that is resistant to the antibiotic colistin – known as the drug of last resort.
For the first time, researchers found a superbug with gene resistant to antibiotic colistin in the U.S. What are the threats posed by this strain of E.coli bacteria?
The newspaper reports that the CDC is working with public health officials in Pennsylvania to determine how the woman may have contacted the bacteria.
“The more we look at drug resistance, the more concerned we are”, Dr. Tom Frieden, CDC director, said Thursday.
“In March, President Obama announced a national plan for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria”, with a goal of cutting unnecessary antibiotics prescriptions by half by 2020.
Asked about the woman’s location, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said state law prohibits it from discussing details of individual investigations. She had not traveled during the five months before her infection.
The United States may be treading on a path to a post-antibiotics era, when more people will die from common infections.
“Bocchini said “[We] wash our hands, to glove gown mask, whatever is appropriate for the patient we’re taking care of to reduce the likelihood or spread of bacteria in general but specifically resistant organisms.
The first case of an infection that resists the antibiotic of last resort – colistin – has been detected in the US.
However, the discovery of the gene signals “the emergence of a truly-pan resistant bacteria”, researchers wrote in the study.
Late previous year, Congress agreed to give hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal agencies engaged in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
He added: “We risk being in a post-antibiotic world”.
Medical professionals have long warned that the evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains could lead to an unparalleled medical crisis, with minor infections or simple surgeries becoming fatal.
The colistin-resistant gene has been seen in animals and people in China, Europe and Canada.
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Health professionals hope that this recent discovery in the USA will help urge funding for research surrounding antibiotics to fight these superbugs as well as other alternative ways of combatting them.
