Researchers find second 'superbug' gene in U.S. patient
Source: Reuters
World | Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:01pm EDT
Researchers find second 'superbug' gene in U.S. patient
CHICAGO | BY JULIE STEENHUYSEN
Scientists have identified a second patient in the United States infected with bacteria carrying the mcr-1 "superbug" gene, which makes bacteria highly resistant to a last-resort class of antibiotics.
The gene, found in a sample of E. coli bacteria from a patient in New York, follows the discovery late last month of a patient in Pennsylvania who had a urinary tract infection caused by E. coli that carried the gene.
The finding was published on Monday in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
The mcr-1 gene makes bacteria resistant to colistin, an antibiotic used to treat multi-drug-resistant infections, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae or CRE, which U.S. health officials have dubbed a "nightmare" bacteria.
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