The 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania was infected with Escherichia coli that carried a gene for resistance against the antibiotic colistin. The bug in question had first been infected with a DNA fragment called a plasmid, which carries a gene called mcr-1. Now that this strain of bacteria has been spotted in the United States, many are likely searching for more information on the bacteria, and the potential of it spreading.
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Doctors have seen cases in China, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
In an interview yesterday, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said the new report shows the “end of the road isn’t very far away for antibiotics”, adding that the situation may arise where a patient with a UTI can not be treated.
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. The emergence of a transferable gene that confers resistance to this vital antibiotic is extremely disturbing. However, the U.S. Department of Defense released a report Thursday saying that doctors have identified this dreaded superbug in a Pennsylvania woman. The woman had not travelled in the five months before her infection.
Colistin, which is the last defensive strategy against the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria, now seems to be decreasing in strength due to a transferable gene.
In the United Kingdom in December, Public Health England (PHE) reported it had tested samples and also found resistance to colistin.
Antibiotic resistance happens if the bacterium change and are able to fool the antibiotic by “hiding” or by pushing the drug out of the cell.
“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.
She told us people overusing antibiotics is partially to blame for having “superbugs”. They warned that they were in the early stages of testing and that continued surveillance was needed to determine the true prevalence of mcr-1 in the population.
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“We need to do a very comprehensive job of protecting antibiotics so we can have them and our children can have them”, Dr Frieden said, calling for more research into new antibiotics and better stewardship of existing drugs.
