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Antibiotic-resistant Multi-resistant super germ detected in the USA
In the United States, health officials now report the fourth infection with a potentially deadly "super germ." As early as July, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD) identified a strain of Escherichia coli that did not respond to treatment with antibiotics. Antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains could become a major threat to all people in the world.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers are now investigating the case of a girl suffering from fever and bloody diarrhea. The experts found that the patients were probably suffering from an antibiotic-resistant strain of Escherichia coli. The doctors of the CDC published a press release on the results of their investigation.
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains are a major threat to human health. Such resistance would make the treatment of some diseases considerably more difficult or even impossible. (Image: CrazyCloud / fotolia.com) Child gets infected with MCR-1 on vacation
The girl had developed a fever and bloody diarrhea while vacationing in the Caribbean. These symptoms first appeared two days before returning to the US, the authors explain. During the illness, the child once went to an emergency room. However, no admission to a hospital was necessary, say the doctors.
Investigation notes MRC-1
The doctors assumed that the child was probably suffering from a parasitic infection. For this reason, they used normal clinical methods of treatment and performed a stool sample, says Maroya Spalding Walters of the CDC. One of the organisms detected in the study was the E. coli bacteria. These contained the so-called MCR-1 gene. MCR-1 is responsible for resistance to polymyxins. This form of antibiotics includes, for example, colistin, explain the experts. Doctors use it to treat infections that normally do not respond to other drugs. For some time, doctors have been looking for new treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
You could be infected with MCR-1 without realizing it
Surprisingly, E. coli with the MCR-1 gene was not the cause of the diarrhea. There were other bacteria that caused the disease, say the scientists. A healthy person can also be infected with MCR-1 bacteria without realizing it or even feeling sick. If the bacteria only occur on the skin or in the intestine of a person, it may be that those affected have no negative effects by the bacteria.
There are always better ways to detect MCR-1
There are now more and more possibilities with which MCR-1 is easily and reliably detectable. The genes will be identified with increasing frequency. It is very important to monitor the spread of MCR-1. MCR-1 can be transmitted to other types of bacteria. This is one of the reasons why physicians need to step up their fight against antibiotic resistance.
How does a super germ emerge??
When the gene transmits to bacteria that are already resistant to most other antibiotics, it creates a kind of super germ. This would then have a combined resistance to all forms of antibiotics, explain the authors.
MCR-1 continues to spread
MRC-1 was first detected in food, animals and humans in China in 2015. Since this discovery, the gene has been identified in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and North America. In the United States, MCR-1 has been detected in four patients with E. coli, the researchers say. There has been one individual in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. In addition, MCR-1 was found in two gut samples from pigs, the authors add.
In Pennsylvania, the cause of the infection is still unclear
The ill woman from Pennsylvania had not come into contact with livestock, nor had she recently traveled internationally. The scientists do not know exactly how the woman got infected with MCR-1 bacteria. The health authorities in the present case in Pennsylvania identified 20 contact persons with a high risk of infection. These included, for example, the family members. Furthermore, 78 people were found with a lower risk rate, say the experts. All sufferers underwent a test. None of the risk contacts had the MCR-1 gene. The CDC staff also examined four medical facilities where the sick woman was admitted last year. No resistant organisms could be detected here either, say the authors. (As)