Superbug - New Research

News on the Superbug

New research shows that the superbug could threaten the health of a large number of people in the future.  This is most alarming as the antibiotic resistant infections can be deadly.

• Researchers recently discovered a new gene, called mcr-1, in pigs and people in China — a gene mutation that makes bacteria resistant to our last-resort class of antibiotics
• The drug resistance caused by this gene has the potential to create a global epidemic of infections resistant to ALL available antibiotics, as the rate of transfer of resistance between bacteria is exceptionally high
• The researchers call for urgent restrictions on the use of polymyxins, including colistin, which is widely used in livestock farming