The news was reported Thursday in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. It is a superbug that is resistant to many antibiotics, even Colistin, which doctors use as a last resort when other antibiotics fail.
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Frieden warned that although this is the first case in the United States, we should expect to see more such superbugs in the near future.
“(This) heralds the emergence of truly pan-drug resistant bacteria”, said the study, which was conducted by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
So while her case is the first official record of colistin-resistant bacteria in America-the strain of resistant E. coli involved was first identified in the United Kingdom in 2008 and later in Italy-it is probably not the first case. He said that could be the case with the Pennsylvania woman, and US officials said her infection was still treatable with other antibiotics.
But health officials fear that if the resistance spreads to other bacteria, the country may soon see supergerms impervious to all known antibiotics.
Infectious disease experts have warned for years that overuse of antibiotics is weakening the effectiveness of human defenses against harmful bacteria by creating bugs that are immune to drugs. When doctors tested her urine, they discovered mcr-1 in the sample. How did the superbug infect a Pennsylvania woman?
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of mcr-1 in the United States of America”, the authors say. The danger is in the potential for the mcr-1 bacteria to assist other bacteria in developing colistin resistance.
Jackson says the antibiotic colisitin has been around for decades, but is often used as a last resort because of its strong side effects.
“Drug companies can’t make an economic case for investing in superbug drugs”, said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Antibiotic resistance causes at least 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths annually, according to the CDC.
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The CDC director said they’re trying to figure out how the patient contracted the bacteria so they can better prepare hospitals for possible transmission control. “It is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently”. By the 1970s, doctors had mostly stopped using it because of its harsh side effects. In January, dozens of drugmakers and diagnostic companies, including Pfizer, Merck & Co, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline, signed a declaration calling for new incentives from governments to support investment in development of medicines to fight drug-resistant superbugs.
