Drug-resistant Bacteria Found in US

A bacteria resistant to all drugs, including the antibiotic of last resort, has been found in the US for the first time, researchers said Thursday.

    The discovery of a strain of E.coli with a gene resistant to the antibiotic colistin "heralds the emergence of truly pan-drug resistant bacteria," researchers wrote in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotheraphy.

    Tom Frieden, the director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, warned of potentially grave consequences if bacteria increasingly cannot be treated. "We will lose these miracle drugs," he warned in remarks in Washington, pointing to the necessity of the drugs to treat not just routine infections but also for people undergoing cancer treatment. 

    The strain was found in a Pennsylvania woman with a urinary tract infection. It has previously been identified in Britain and Italy, dpa reported. Health experts have been warning for years that overuse of antibiotics was creating so-called super bugs that do not respond to traditional drugs.

Source : QNA