The antibiotic apocalypse is nigh: Scientists found bacteria resistant to a drug of last resort

[n2doc]

Scientists say we may be on the verge of a “post-antibiotic” world, with the discovery of bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics. In a new, ominous study, researchers describe a new gene mutation that prevents a drug called colistin from killing off a variety of common bacteria including E. Coli.

The gene, dubbed mcr-1, has been identified in patients and livestock in China; researchers say the resistance likely developed from overusing colistin on farm animals, the BBC reports. A fifth of the animals tested by the scientists, as well as 16 human patients and 15% of raw meat showed resistance. China is the world’s largest user of the drug for veterinary and agriculture purposes, and its government is already looking into assessing risks of using colistin.

The “antibiotic apocalypse” described in the report published online Nov. 18 in Lancet Infectious Diseases, means that in the foreseeable future, doctors will face “increasing numbers of patients for whom we will need to say, ‘Sorry, there is nothing I can do to cure your infection,'” according to commentary included in the study.

What makes the mcr-1 gene highly dangerous is its ability to copy itself and transfer onto other bacteria, spreading easily.

more

http://qz.com/554533/the-antibiotic-apocalypse-is-nigh-scientists-found-bacteria-resistant-to-a-drug-of-last-resort/

[still_one]

1. It is a big deal. I tried to argue six months or so back that antibiotic use in farm animals was an

even bigger problem then human overuse of antibiotics, and met with "resistance". (no pun intended).

In addition, in the states they are not eliminating antibiotic use in farm animals immediately, they will go through a "phase out program", which will take years. What we do to ourselves is amazing.

They are working on new solutions with new classes of antibiotics, Teixobactin:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teixobactin

However, that is still several years off, and it doesn't working on gram negative pathogens.

They will need to explore bacterial phages, vaccines and other avenues also.

We have been complacent for far too long, and when people to start die from infections that were treatable with antibiotics, it will be too late

[n2doc]

2. And anything they come up with will be quickly overused in livestock

cycle repeating....

[still_one]

3. They have to stop that practice of indiscriminate use in livestock. Antibiotics overuse in humans

also a problem, but not as much here as it is in Asia where you can buy antibiotics without a prescription.

We are killing ourselves

[Brainstormy]

5. You're absolutely right!

I get crazy when the blame for this is placed on clinical use for humans. 90% of all the antibiotics sold go to the administration of sub-therapeutic doses to food animals, not humans. And big pharma would love to (try to) be the solution to this problem, too.

[Warpy]

4. My doc brought this up during a routine visit last week

and he seems genuinely spooked by it, thinks life expectancy will drop like a rock. I pointed out that most of the gains in life expectancy statistics were due to eradicating the usual childhood diseases that used to kill half the children in an average family before the age of five. Most diseases will still be curable but resistant pneumonia will again become the old man's (or woman's) friend.

It's still pretty scary stuff to those of us who have lived through the golden age of antibiotics.