Discovery Of Superbug In U.S. Could Signal ‘End Of The Road’ For Antibiotics
Defense Department researchers have determined that a Pennsylvania woman carried a strain of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin, a discovery that could lead to a "nightmare" situation where infections are untreatable.
The New York Times:
Infection Raises Specter Of Superbugs Resistant To All Antibiotics
American military researchers have identified the first patient in the United States to be infected with bacteria that are resistant to an antibiotic that was the last resort against drug-resistant germs. The patient is well now, but the case raises the specter of superbugs that could cause untreatable infections, because the bacteria can easily transmit their resistance to other germs that are already resistant to additional antibiotics. The resistance can spread because it arises from loose genetic material that bacteria typically share with one another. (Tavernise and Grady, 5/26)
The Washington Post:
The Superbug That Doctors Have Been Dreading Just Reached The U.S.
For the first time, researchers have found a person in the United States carrying bacteria resistant to antibiotic of last resort, an alarming development that the top U.S. public health official says could signal "the end of the road" for antibiotics. The antibiotic-resistant strain was found last month in the urine of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman. Defense Department researchers determined that she carried a strain of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin, according to a study published Thursday in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology. The authors wrote that the discovery "heralds the emergence of a truly pan-drug resistant bacteria." (Sun and Dennis, 5/26)