Common Bacteria May be Changing into Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

Antibiotic resistance is a huge issue in the medical world. Now, scientists have found that antibiotic resistance may be poised to spread globally amount bacteria frequently implicated in respiratory and urinary infections in hospital settings, which could create a new generation of superbugs.

Drug-resistant germs in the same family of bacteria recently infected several patients at two Los Angeles hospitals. The infections were linked to medical scopes believed to have been contaminated with bacteria that can resist carbapenems, which are potent antibiotics that are supposed to be used only in gravely ill patients or those infected by resistant bacteria.

"Carbapenems are one of our last resorts for treating bacterial infections, what we use when nothing else works," said Gautam Dantas, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Given what we know now, I don't think it's overstating the case to say that for certain types of infections, we may be looking at the start of the post-antibiotic era, a time when most of the antibiotics we rely on to treat bacterial infections are no longer effective."

In this latest study, the researchers examined a family of bacteria called Eterobacteriaceae, which includes E. Coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Enterobacter. Some strains of these bacteria don't cause illness; however, in people with weakened immune systems, infections with carbapenem-resistant versions of these bacteria can be deadly.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have named carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae as one of the three most urgent threats among emerging antibiotic-resistant disease. The fatality rate for these infections is above 50 percent in patients with weakened immune systems.

Currently, the researchers suggest limiting the use of carbapenems to only cases were no other treatment has helped. This may help lower the risk of the development of antibiotic-resistance.

"Our findings also suggest that it's going to get easier for strains of these bacteria that are not yet resistant to pick up a gene that lets them survive carbapenem treatment," said Dantas. "Typically, that's not going to be a problem for most of us, but as drug-resistant forms of Enterobacteriaceae become more widespread, the odds will increase that we'll pass one of these superbugs on to a friend with a weakened immune system who can really be hurt by them."

The findings are published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

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