Resistant bacteria spread

How long will antibiotics be effective against bacterial diseases? Researchers have discovered dangerous enterobacteria that are resistant to almost all antibiotic agents.

(12.08.2010) Scientists from the British Cardiff University, the Health Protection Agency and other international researchers are currently warning of bacteria that can produce the enzyme NDM-1. According to the scientists, the bacteria seem to spread the bacterial strain in India and Pakistan. Tourism is expected to have the resistant bacteria already in Europe.

The scientists found that enterobacteria live in the human gut. Frightening is that the bacteria have become resistant to almost all antibiotics. Even reserve antibiotics of carbapenems seem to be unable to counteract the bacterial strain. Reserve antibiotics are antibiotics that are then used to prevent antibiotic resistance development. Reserve antibiotics are used, for example, in so-called hospital germs (eg MRSA).

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However, only a few cases of illness have been reported in Pakistan, India and the United Kingdom. However, the scientists believe that these resistant bacteria can spread very rapidly and could increasingly pose a serious threat to human health.

Englishmen, who have performed cosmetic surgery in India for cost reasons, have already become infected with these bacteria. According to the BBC, 50 Britons have already become infected with the bacteria. It can be assumed that even more people will infiltrate the bacterial strains into Europe, as so-called medical tourism will continue to grow. This also increases the risk of the spread of resistant bacteria.

But we will make the bacteria resistant to antibiotics? The secret of the resistant bacteria is the enzyme "NDM-1". This enzyme has been proven in many enterobacteria in India and Pakistan. It is easily transferred between the bacteria in plasmids. Since the enzyme with the plasmids can be easily exchanged between bacteria, it is feared that other, more bacteria can no longer be effectively treated.

Researchers now fear that NDM-1 could also spread to other bacterial strains that are also resistant to many antibiotic drugs. When the associations are completed, serious infections could quickly spread from person to person. A treatment with an antibiotic is then hardly possible. (Sb)