Tag: antibiotic resistant bacteria

Study sounds alarm over antibiotic resistant bacteria

RT – June 30, 2022

A new strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found among European pigs is increasingly spreading to humans and causing infections, warn University of Cambridge researchers in a study published on Tuesday.

The new strain of Livestock-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) is believed to have emerged among European livestock in the last 50 years due to widespread antibiotic use in farming, leading to concerns that livestock in Europe could become a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant human infections.

“Historically high levels of antibiotic use may have led to the evolution of this highly antibiotic-resistant strain of MRSA on pig farms,” said Dr. Gemma Murrayn who worked on the study, adding that this LA-MRSA is “extremely stable” and has spread across different livestock species.

The strain, called CC398, was found to be the most dominant type found among pigs and other livestock in Europe and a growing cause of MRSA infections in humans, regardless of whether or not they had direct contact with livestock.

The study notes that in the case of Danish pig farms, the proportion of MRSA-positive herds had increased from 5% in 2008 to 90% in 2018.

While the EU has recently banned the use of zinc oxide, which was used to prevent diarrhea in piglets, over its environmental impact and promotion of antibiotic resistance, the Cambridge researchers warn that efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics may only have a limited impact on the spread of the strain due to its increased stability.

https://www.rt.com

‘Super Gonorrhea’ is spreading like wildfire thanks to COVID-19

– December 23rd, 2020

2020 hasn’t been kind to anyone, but it’s almost over. Unfortunately, if you find yourself with a case of “Super Gonnorhea” you might feel the effects of this terrible year for an extended period of time. Doctors are now warning of the increasing spread of the antibiotic-resistant strain of STI, and they’re blaming the coronavirus pandemic for helping it gain momentum.

According to a report from The Sun, the problem has gotten so bad that the World Health Organization has taken notice. The issue is that as the coronavirus pandemic was ongoing, many clinics and hospitals used antibiotics in the treatment of patients and to prevent the cross-infection of hospitalized individuals. That overuse of antibiotics has given a boost to antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, according to WHO.

Antibiotics are great. They have saved countless lives and provided mankind with the incredible power to rid ourselves of problematic microbes. Unfortunately, as the decades began to pile up, the very microorganisms we fought using antibiotics began to find ways around them. Now, several types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are known to exist, and these “superbugs” require more complex treatment that sometimes includes multiple antibiotics or newer versions of drugs that are not yet compromised.

In the case of gonorrhea, the bacterium that causes the infection has, over time, adapted to common first-line treatments. In particular, the new “super” strain of the infection doesn’t respond to treatment with azithromycin, which has long been the go-to medication option.

“Overuse of antibiotics in the community can fuel the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in gonorrhoea,” a WHO spokesperson told The Sun. “Azithromycin – a common antibiotic for treating respiratory infections – was used for Covid-19 treatment earlier in the epidemic.”

“During the pandemic, STI services have also been disrupted. This means more STI cases are not diagnosed properly with more people self-medicating as a result. Such a situation can fuel emergence of resistance in gonorrhea including gonorrhea superbug (super gonorrhoea) or gonorrhoea with high level resistance to current antibiotics recommended to treat it.”

The worst part is that the number of people reporting a new gonorrhea infection is growing year-over-year, to the tune of about 17%. That means more and more people are getting the infection, and the antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria has an even larger population of people to further its adaptation to medications and other treatments.

https://bgr.com