Frieden was referring to the urinary tract infection of a 49-year-old woman from Pennsylvania who had not travelled anywhere prior five months before getting the infection. Now, for the first time, researchers have discovered this super-resistant bacteria in the United States, and they fear a gene in it (mcr-1) could spread to other types of bacteria.
Advertisement
The infection has been found in a Pennsylvania woman and has shown immunity even to colistin, the most powerful antibiotic yet.
Researchers from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., confirmed the woman’s infection.
Military researchers in the United States have identified the first patient, in the US, to be infected with bacteria that are resistant to an antibiotic that was the last resort against drug-resistant germs.
This is the first time a Colistin-resistant E.Coli strain has been found in the US.
The discovery – the first time the strain has been found inside the US – “heralds the emergence of truly pan-drug resistant bacteria”, according to a report released Thursday by Department of Defense researchers. This is the last piece of that puzzle, unfortunately, in the United States. But the latest development is alarming, David Hyun, a senior officer leading an antibiotic-resistance project at the Pew Charitable Trust, told the Post. The CRE superbug has been presented as one of the most pressing public health threats in the United States by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We risk being in a post-antibiotic world”. Doctors say that the superbug seemed unaffected by Colistin, the last known resort that doctors use when all other antibiotics fail.
Other antibiotics were eventually effective in treating the bug, but what is worrying researchers is the gene that made the strain of E. coli drug resistant. But it has reemerged in recent years, due to increasing toughness and resistance of bacteria.
Initial tests found she was infected with E coli bacteria and she did get treated with another antibiotic.
The CDC said it was working with the health department of Pennsylvania to speak to the patient and figure out how she may have been infected. If this happens, “It is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently”, Dr. Frieden said.
Plasmid-mediated colistin resistance, also known as MCR-1, was detected in a Pennsylvania resident.
Advertisement
The Cure – Antibiotic resistance: The end of modern medicine?
