E.coli has developed resistance to last-line of antibiotics, warn scientists - Telegraph

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health, antibiotic resistance

> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12004008/E.coli-has-developed-resistance-to-last-line-of-antibiotics-warn-scientists.html <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12004008/E.coli-has-developed-resistance-to-last-line-of-antibiotics-warn-scientists.html>
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> E.coli has developed resistance to last-line of antibiotics, warn scientists - Telegraph
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> Currently, when all other drugs fail, doctors use polymyxins – such as colistin - as a last resort to treat bacterial infections like E.coli and those which cause pneumonia.
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> But British scientists have discovered that pigs and meat sold in China are infected with bacteria carrying a new gene which makes them resistant to these rearguard antibiotics <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/10949933/Antibiotic-resistance-is-an-avoidable-disaster.html>.
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> The MCR-1 gene is in a part of the DNA which can be easily copied and transferred between bacteria leading experts to conclude that ‘pandemic resistance is inevitable.’ The mutated forms were also found in 1322 hospitalised patients in China and is thought to have already spread to Laos and Malaysia.
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> British scientists and health experts described the discovery as ‘worrying,’ ‘disturbing’ and ‘alarming.’
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> “The emergence of the MCR-1 gene in China heralds a disturbing breach of the last group of antibiotics and an end to our last line of defence against infection,” said Professor Timothy Walsh, of Cardiff Institute of Infection & Immunity at Cardiff University.
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> “The effect on human health posed by this new gene cannot be underestimated. The rapid spread of similar antibiotic-resistant genes suggests that all antibiotics will soon be futile in the face of previously treatable gram-negative bacterial infections such as E.coli and salmonella.
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> “Our investigations in China found that MCR-1 is already prevalent in E.coli samples found in live animals and meat products, and in a small number of human cases.
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> “MCR-1 is likely to spread to the rest of the world at an alarming rate unless we take a globally coordinated approach to combat it.
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> Speaking of Britain, he added: “It could already be here.”
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> A picture taken with electron microscope shows E.coli Photo: REUTERS/Manfred Rohde/Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Infektionsforschung (HZI)
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> The team from Cardiff University and the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, China, were first alerted to a possible new deadly strain of e- E.coli after a pig at a farm in Shanghai showed resistance to colistin in 2011.
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> Over the next four years the team took samples from pigs at slaughter across four provinces, and meat sold in markets in Guangzhou. They found a high prevalence of the MCR-1 gene in E coli, with the proportion of positive samples increasing each year.
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> The researchers also found that the MCR-1 gene has the potential to spread into other epidemic strains <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/12001267/Warning-that-cats-and-dogs-are-passing-on-infections-to-their-owners.html> such as K pneumoniae and P aeruginosa which can cause a variety of diseases from pneumonia to serious blood infections. K pneumonia strains found in hospital patients also carried the mutation.
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> “These are extremely worrying results,” said author Professor Jian-Hua Liu from South China Agricultural University <http://english.scau.edu.cn/scauen/index.asp> in Guangzhou, China.
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> “The emergence of MCR-1 heralds the breach of the last group of antibiotics. The polymyxins were the last class of antibiotics in which resistance was incapable of spreading from cell to cell.
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> “Our results reveal the emergence of the first resistance gene that is readily passed between common bacteria, suggesting that the progression from extensive drug resistance to pandemic resistance is inevitable.”
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> China is one of the world’s largest users and producers of colistin for agriculture and veterinary use. The Chinese Government has already banned vets from using colistin and the researchers are hoping the same prohibition will be applied globally.
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> Prof Nigel Brown, President of the Microbiology Society <http://www.microbiologysociety.org/>, said: “This discovery that resistance to colistin can be transferred between bacteria is alarming.
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> “Now that it has been demonstrated that resistance can be transferred between bacteria and across bacterial species, another line of defence against infection is in danger of being breached.”
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> Prof Laura Piddock, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Birmingham, said all use of polymyxins should be minimised as soon as possible.
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> “This is a worrying report as polymyxins are often the last resort antibiotic to treat serious infections by multiple drug-resistant bacteria,” she added.
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> “Equally worrying is that this type of resistance can be easily transferred between bacteria and as we know from other types of drug-resistance, this likely paves the way for it to spread throughout the world.”
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> Dr Simon Clarke, Associate Professor in Cellular Microbiology, University of Reading, said infections will become more difficult to treat.
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> “At a time when antibiotic resistance is increasing across the globe, this form of resistance is one we have to study closely and learn from quickly,” he added.
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> Dr David Burch, veterinary surgeon and independent member of the RUMA Alliance <http://www.ruma.org.uk/> (Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance), said the report was ‘disturbing and disappointing.’
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> Dr Burch said: “The possibility of transfer by man is a more likely risk with increased trade and tourism between the two regions of the world.”
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> Yesterday Public Health England <https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england> called for NHS patients to become Antibiotic Guardians, and think carefully before asking for drugs and take more care to prevent the spread of infections by washing hands and accepting the flu jab.
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> Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies said: “This research highlights exactly why we need to tackle the growing issue of antibiotic resistance. We must work together to save the precious medicines that we have by reducing unnecessary prescribing.
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> “We are working closely with countries across the world to monitor where antibiotics are being overused so that we can take action to save modern medicine as we know it.”
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> The new research was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.