Thursday, May 26, 2016

'Nightmare Bacteria' Superbug Found for First Time in U.S



A drug-resistant "superbug" that doctors have been dreading has shown up in the U.S. for the first time, researchers reported Thursday.

The bacteria has genetic changes that make it resistant to a last-ditch antibiotic called colistin and while it had been seen in Europe and China, no one in the U.S. had been seen with it before. 

It doesn't spell doom just yet. The mutant E. coli germ was found in a Pennsylvania woman with symptoms of a urinary tract infection, but it does not appear to be spreading at epidemic proportions. And it was susceptible to other antibiotics, so the patient was not left without any hope.

What's worrying is the gene that made the E. coli drug-resistant. It's called mcr-1, and it is passed from one bacteria to another. It sits on a piece of material called a plasmid, which makes it easy for one species of bacteria to pass it along to another species of bacteria. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: NBC News

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