After various antibiotics failed to kill the bacteria, doctors attempted to use Colistin – a last-resort medication used when other methods fail – and not even that has worked, according to CNN.
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A 49-year old woman in Pennsylvania has been diagnosed with a strain of bacteria completely immune to antibiotics.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that antibiotic resistance is “one of the biggest threats to global health today”. Tests found she had E. coli bacteria resistant to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort.
A 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman has an infection that is resistant to all known antibiotics, the first documented patient in the US with a “superbug”, reports say.
Frieden, MD, MPH, announced the finding during an address at the National Press Club and warned that better stewardship was needed to fight antibiotic resistance.
The bacteria doesn’t respond to drugs because of a particular gene called mcr-1. “It is the end of the road unless we act urgently”.
“[This] heralds the emergence of truly pan-drug resistant bacteria”, said the study, which was conducted by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Dr. McGann and colleagues say the discovery has prompted an “urgent public health response” to prevent the spread of mcr-1, which involves active surveillance of mcr-1 through collection and testing of bacterial samples.
A publication of the American Society for Microbiology – Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy – featured the study, which stated that the mcr-1 gene with resistance to colistin had found its way into the superbug.
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.
Tom Fekete, an infectious disease specialist at Temple University Hospital, said he is hopeful about other drugs in the pipeline. Drug-makers have been reluctant to spend money on developing new antibiotics because they make more money on drugs for cancer and rare diseases.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health acknowledged the case, but would not release any details.
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“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.
