Deadly superbug arrives in US, report says

A long-dreaded superbug that is a strain of E. Coli has made its first appearance in the United States, researchers at the U.S. Military HIV Research Program announced Thursday.

After being identified in China, Europe and Canada, researchers identified mcr-1 positive— part of the deadly family of bacteria carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE— last month in a urinary tract sample in Pennsylvania, and found it was resistant to the antibiotic colistin.

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Colistin, known as the last line of defense against the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria, now appears to be exchanging genes for its resistance and waning in strength, according to a news release.

"Colistin is one of the last efficacious antibiotics for the treatment of highly resistant bacteria. The emergence of a transferable gene that confers resistance to this vital antibiotic is extremely disturbing,” Dr. Patrick McGann, of the Multidrug Resistant Organism Repository and Surveillance Network (MRSN) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), said in the release. “The discovery of this gene in the U.S. is equally concerning, and continued surveillance to identify reservoirs of this gene within the military health care community and beyond is critical to prevent its spread.”

Since the first transferrable gene for colistin-resistance was identified in China in 2015, microbiologists have been monitoring food supply and humans for its presence, according to the study that reported the U.S. finding, which was published Thursday in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. In Pennsylvania, the urinary tract infection sample from a 49-year-old female patient receiving treatment at a military facility was sent to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), where colistin susceptibility was tested. Tests revealed the bacterial infection would be resistant to colistin, and the center sent the sample to MRSN for sequencing, which identified the colistin-resistant gene, mrc-1. It’s unclear how the woman contracted the infection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infections with CRE germs are very difficult to treat. One report suggests they may contribute to death in up to 50 percent of infected patients.

In the new study, researchers reported that through intergovernmental communication, the CDC and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) also have identified a swine intestinal infection with a single mcr-1 positive E. coli strain. The Pennsylvania case and swine case may not be linked, but “the evidence of the strain in the U.S. is a public health concern” that “could worsen the current global crisis of antimicrobial resistance,” according to the release.

At the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday, CDC director Tom Frieden called CRE a “nightmare bacteria.”

“The medicine cabinet is empty for some patients,” Frieden said. “It is the end of the road unless we act urgently.”

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/05/27/deadly-superbug-arrives-in-us-report-says.html/

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4915466919001/deadly-antibiotic-resistant-superbug-arrives-in-us/
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Drug-Resistant Superbug Found in Pennsylvania Woman

A rare strain of E. coli resistant to an antibiotic of last resort was spotted for the first time in the United States.

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/05/26/drug-resistant-superbug-pennsylvania-woman/

New Stone Age Begins: Nightmare 'Superbug' Sends Humanity Back in Time / Sputnik International

Last week, the news of a 49-year-old woman in the United States who had supposedly been infected with a multi-resistant "superbacterium" sent shock waves through Denmark's scientific circles. Danish researchers argued that multiresistence may send the treatment of inflammations 100 years back in time.

"If these bacteria become widespread, then we are left with virtually no treatment. This scenario has never before been closer than it is now. We are moving into a post-antibiotic era, which may prove quite similar to the pre-antibiotics era," Hans Jørgen Kolmos, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Southern Denmark, told Jyllands-Posten.

Last year, researchers from China and Great Britain discovered bacteria that are resistant to 'last resort' antibiotic agent Coliston in living pigs, pork meat and a number of people in China. Similar findings in a US woman leaves us with a ‘gloomy' future, said Svend Ellermann-Eriksen, professor and chief physician at the Department of Clinical Microbiology at Aarhus University Hospital.

Both Svend Ellermann-Eriksen and Hans Jørgen Kolmos issued a clarion call to the Danish healthcare system to cut down on the consumption of antibiotics. According to the scientists, there is a dangerous tendency to view antibiotics as harmless.

"One should remember that if a Mrs. Jensen is treated with antibiotics, this compromises a Mr. Hansen as well," Svend Ellermann-Eriksen said.

Although the Danish consumption of antibiotics in health care may be assessed as moderate in comparison to some parts of the world, the consumption still increased by 30 per cent over the past 10 years.

Another, if not greater threat is the use of antibiotics for agricultural purposes.

"Danish farmers use twice as much antibiotics as the entire Danish healthcare system does. It is an utter mess," Hans Jørgen Kolmos said, advocating greater demands on agriculture.

However, the criticism was rejected by Robert Leo Forest of the State Serum Institute

, who argued that the antibiotic consumption in the Danish agriculture still is much lower than in Asia.

Nevertheless, Hans Jørn Kolmos advocated local solutions to the global threat, such as creating a local environment, where these bacteria may find it difficult to thrive.

According to previous estimates, 10 million people die are expected to die every year from 2050 onwards, unless an international strategy against multiresistent bacteria emerges.

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160531/1040517768/denmark-superbug-multiresistent-bacteria.html/